PERSONAL DATA CONCERNING THE HUMAN BODY AS AN OBJECT OF SOMATIC RIGHTS
Keywords:
somatic rights, bodily autonomy, personal data, health data, biometric data, genetic data, informational self-determination, medical confidentiality, human dignity, data protectionAbstract
This article examines personal data concerning the human body as an independent object of somatic rights within the theory of state and law. It argues that the legal protection of the body is no longer limited to direct physical interference, because contemporary digital systems increasingly translate bodily existence into health data, biometric identifiers, genetic information, physiological indicators and algorithmic body profiles. The study uses normative, comparative legal and systemic methods to clarify the relationship between bodily autonomy, human dignity, medical confidentiality, personal data protection and the emerging doctrine of somatic rights. The article demonstrates that body-related personal data has a dual legal nature: it is simultaneously information about a person and a digital representation of the person’s physical integrity. On this basis, the article proposes safeguards such as purpose limitation, data minimization, necessity and proportionality of biometric processing, access and correction rights, traceability of access to medical records, and stricter limits on secondary use by employers, insurers and other third parties.
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