DNA@King's has worked with Shaila Pal, Director of King's Legal Clinics at the Dickson Poon School of Law, and Refugee Legal Support, to provide training, education and legal DNA testing for the One King's Impact funded project to set up a new Refugee Family Reunion Clinic and conduct two themes of research. Research on the legal process and impact on displaced children has been published (details and link below). This research has sought to investigate the standards and quality in DNA service provision and Home Office processing.

• We have identified key findings with recommendations for greater transparency in service provision, improved decision making through training, and knowledge exchange programmes to educate legal professionals on how DNA can be useful when interpreted correctly.
• We examined the process from families wishing to unite to selecting a DNA test, through the legal process to Home Office decision making.
• We surveyed and mapped the Ministry of Justice accredited laboratories and ancillary organisations that offer DNA testing.
• We surveyed the legal sector of immigration lawyers and caseworkers.

To learn more about the key findings and recommendations from our report, we invite scientists, legal professionals, immigration support organisations, families and Home Office decision makers and policy makers to a special event that will reveal the key outcomes from interdisciplinary research at King's College London that has engaged with DNA experts, laboratories and organisations, and lawyers, to survey stakeholders and report on the current landscape including the essentials of interpreting DNA results and the services available to support families fairly and transparently.

A panel of experts from DNA@King's, King's Legal Clinics at Dickson Poon School of Law, Refugee Legal Support, Safe Passage International, and Northgene will give presentations on DNA as evidence and their experience supporting families and answer questions from the audience.

Join us in person for an engaging session focusing on how DNA evidence plays a crucial role in immigration cases and how the evidence is interpreted and used to support applications through to decision making by the Home Office. We examined the process from selecting a laboratory from the Ministry of Justice list through the legal process to decision. We surveyed accredited laboratories and organisations that offer DNA testing. We surveyed the legal sector of immigration lawyers and caseworkers.

If you have experience or expertise don't miss this unique opportunity to share, discuss, interact, learn more and have an impact on service provision and policy.

• Current legal system leaving vulnerable and displaced children at risk of serious harm | King's College London
• Inaccessible Legal Pathways: Reuniting Child Relatives with Family Members with Protection Status in the UK by Aleksandra Ancite-Jepifánova, Shaila Pal :: SSRN

For information about our project background and aims:
Expanding Safe Pathways to Sanctuary: Refugee Family Reunion 

Information & Contact

Lesley Nott
Principal Investigator & Forensic Business Manager