Biometric identification systems in the Commonwealth and the right to privacy

The Commonwealth is a unique political association of former British colonies (with no legal duties between or among one another) which, for the most part, share a common law legal tradition and have in place a written statement of fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of the given territory. The Commonwealth is largely comprised of developing countries. In recent years several developing Commonwealth states have implemented biometric identification systems.1 Biometric identification systems, or BIDSs, are mandatory (or near-mandatory) national identification systems which require citizens of the state, and in some cases a wider class of individuals, to enrol in the identification system and in so doing provide his or her biometric data. This article aims to assess BIDSs in light of privacy rights, filling an important gap in scholarly literature as it pertains to the ambitious state-driven projects. The article also sets out the schema of the various types of privacy rights in the Commonwealth, in relation to both the style of drafting and the reach or extent of the said rights.