MACHINE-READABLE TRAVEL DOCUMENTS IN AVIATION SECURITY AND INFORMATION PRIVACY: AN ISLAMIC LAW PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

For the purpose of preventing civil aviation offences and maintaining security of civil aviation, passengers are required to give biometric information which must  be stored in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) approved Machine Readable Travel Documents (MTRDs) and that such information obtained should be adequately secured against skimming and eavesdropping. Since its inception, many countries including the Islamic countries have adopted the machine to process information of passengers coming in and going out of their states. Academic writers have written on the challenges of skimming and eavesdropping as they are related to information privacy versus aviation security in the conventional law but the Islamic law position has not been dealt with. The article therefore attempts to explore the Islamic law position on the use of Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs) and the challenges being posed to aviation security. The paper is qualitative in nature and relies on primary and secondary sources of Islamic law to argue its position. The paper finds that Islamic law expressly preserves individual’s information privacy and that skimming and eavesdropping are allowed to promote public security and prevention of evil. Its further provides punishment for whoever transgresses against information privacy. It concludes that the adoption of MRTDs to obtain information about private affairs of passengers is in line with the principle of Islamic law.