(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

Two French associations, EDRi-member Imaginons un réseau internet solidaire (IRIS) and Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH), have filed a complaint against the French government before the highest administrative Court. They ask the French Conseil d'État to annul the decree issued on 30 April 2008 by the French government on biometric passports.

The associations consider the decree had been issued under an irregular procedure by publishing the Opinion in the Official Journal 6 days after the decree had been published, instead of presenting them at the same time, as required by law.

The provisions of the decree stipulate the collection of eight fingerprints for passport applicants starting with 6 years old children and the creation of a central biometric database for retaining and processing the collected data.

IRIS and LDH argue that the nature, the quantity and the retaining period of these data in a central database are disproportionate with regards to the decree's objectives, which remain the same as in the previous passport decree of December 2005, where fingerprints were not required. Moreover, they believe that the decree is violating the national as well as international legislation regarding the protection of the personal data. It also violates international legislation related to children.

The two associations link the requirements of this decree to the provisions of the draft law on biometric ID cards currently being prepared. They state that, if the decree is not annulled, the government would, under the pretext of more easily issuing identity cards and passports, influence the debate in the French Parliament on the biometric identity card project.

Biometric passport : IRIS and LDH ask the State Council to annul the decree (only in French, 4.07.2008)
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/info-debat/comm-passeport0708.html

Common Press Release - IRIS and LDH (only in French, 4.07.2008)
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/info-debat/recours-passeport0708.pdf

Text of the legal complaint (only in French 4.07.2008)
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/info-debat/recours-passeport0708.pdf

EDRIgram: The French Government goes against CNIL in biometric passports (21.05.2008)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number6.10/cnil-biometric-passports