Genetic tests aimed at establishing paternity are certain and allow to obtain an unambiguous result even in very complicated cases, but there is one condition - certain procedures must be followed. In addition, the experience of the people performing the test is very important. However, even a reliable and correctly performed examination may not always be evidence in court. Why?

Paternity determination based on genetic testing (DNA test) is fully reliable if all procedures are followed. This does not mean, however, that they can always be used as evidence in court.

Procedures and certificates and the reliability of the laboratory

Laboratory staff should be able to identify the risk of a possible error at each stage of the test - from the receipt of samples to the reporting of the result. This allows for the creation of very precise procedures whose task is to eliminate possible errors. In addition, the laboratory should have a proven method prior to testing, in other words, it goes through the test validation process. This means that it performs a series of control tests that confirm the reproducibility of the results in the assumed reaction conditions, and thus the reliability and precision of the test. Laboratories that care about the quality of research regularly participate in certification programs organized by independent research centers. The purpose of these programs is to test your proficiency in performing analyzes.

Genetic testing: probative value for the court

Despite the fulfillment of the relevant conditions for the execution of the analysis, the test result does not always have a probative value for the court. Why is this happening? In the case of private orders, the research material is collected by the respondents themselves. Various types of atypical samples are also often used: glasses, cutlery, hair with bulbs, handkerchiefs or toothbrushes, etc. In both cases, it is impossible to prove the origin of the material from a specific person and the courts are not able to issue a judgment because they do not have to be sure who the sample comes from.

In order for the test result to be of probative value for the court, the material should be collected in accordance with a specific procedure.

The court procedure requires the presentation of an identity document for each of the test persons and the presence of an independent witness,who will confirm that the right people have joined the study. Usually, a special protocol is drawn up at the time of sampling. This document contains the data of the respondents, their signatures and the signatures of witnesses.

Certainty of the test result and the mother's participation in the study

While private research can be carried out without the mother's participation, her participation is already required in the case of court-based research. This is important especially in the case of denial of paternity, where the laboratory should check whether the tested child is related to the mother. This is to exclude the situation of changing children in the hospital. It is assumed that the maternal trial is slightly more sensitive than the trial involving only the child and the alleged father. Nevertheless, some laboratories perform analyzes based on 24 genetic markers. Thanks to this, it is possible to maintain high sensitivity even during the examination without the mother's participation.

Credibility of the result

In fact, confidence and plausibility in a result do not always come together. The basis of a properly performed test is the certainty of the method and procedures used in a given laboratory. However, from a legal point of view, not every result of a properly performed audit is reliable evidence in court proceedings. It is important to document the origin of the samples concerned. In the case of private research, this requirement is usually not met, hence the results of these research, as a rule, have no probative value, despite the certainty of the research itself.

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