A Guide to Litigating Identity Systems IDENTITY SYSTEMS’ IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY 31. National Identity Systems implicate all these components of privacy through the collection of biometric data, the use of biometric data for authentication,54 the storage and sharing of sensitive personal information, including biometric data, in the system,55 and the mandatory nature of national identity systems.56 Collection 32. The collection of biometric data and their use for authentication of an identity card interferes with the right to privacy because the physical process of obtaining biometric data like fingerprints and iris scans constitutes an invasion of an individual’s physical person. a) The Mauritian Supreme Court relied on this framing of a potential violation of the right to privacy under its constitution when reasoning about the Mauritian national identity system.57 The fingerprinting requirement was evaluated as a physical search of the person, which allowed the court to examine the constitutionality of the fingerprinting requirement even where there was not a generally protected right to privacy in the Mauritian Constitution.58 Although the court ultimately found that any infringement of the right to privacy was overcome by the public interest,59 the case 54 See Madhewoo, 2015 SCJ 177 at 23. 55 See Madhewoo, 2015 SCJ 177 at 33. 56 See Opinion of Justice Sykes, ¶ 174. 57 Madhewoo, 2015 SCJ 177 at 23. 58 Madhewoo, 2015 SCJ 177 at 23. 59 Madhewoo, 2015 SCJ 177 at 28. 20