CONSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL IDENTITY: THE ROLE OF AUTOSOMAL DNA TESTING IN DETERMINING NATIONAL AFFILIATION

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of constitutional digital identity in the context of the transformation of the rights of national minorities under the influence of the digitalization of public administration and the development of genetic technologies. The constitutional guarantees of the rights of national minorities enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and their evolution in the conditions of a digital society are analyzed, where the processes of personal identification may increasingly be associated with the processing of personal and genetic data. Particular attention is paid to the role of Ukraine as a social state, which is obliged to ensure equal access of persons belonging to national minorities to social benefits, guarantees, and support programs. The implementation of these rights in the digital environment may involve confirmation of belonging to a relevant national minority, which actualizes the need for legal regulation of identification procedures and ensuring proper protection of sensitive personal and genetic data. In this context, special attention is paid to autosomal DNA testing as a source of sensitive genetic data. The legal risks of using genetic information are considered, in particular the possibility of discrimination, abuse of state discretion, and violation of the right to privacy. International approaches and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection of biometric data are analyzed, as well as modern cybersecurity challenges related to the creation of genetic registers. The article emphasizes the need to improve national legislation in the field of protection of genetic data of representatives of national minorities and to develop clear procedures for their processing in state information systems. It is substantiated that ensuring a balance between the public interests of the state and the individual’s right to privacy is a key condition for preventing violations of the rights of national minorities in digital identification processes. The formation of a person’s constitutional digital identity must be based on the principles of voluntariness, proportionality, data minimization, and proper protection of personal information. The use of autosomal DNA testing results in the field of the legal status of national minorities is permissible provided that constitutional guarantees of human rights are observed and discriminatory practices are prevented.