Journal de médecine légale

Issues on Methods of Identification in Court Ordered Paternity Testing â??The Case of Portugal

Abstract

Helena Machado

Official technical and scientific recommendations on standard procedures and quality control in the field of testing of paternity do
not cover issues relating to methods of subjects’ identification in the processing of paternity investigations that are compulsory for
the individuals – parental testing ordered by courts. The aim of this paper is to explore the main issues posed to forensic laboratories
when collecting samples for court ordered paternity investigation and therefore contribute to the ongoing debate on social and ethical
implications of parental testing and open up new dimensions of this practice.