1. A method for comparing a set of minutiae of a current image with a set of minutiae of a reference image, including the steps of: arranging the minutiae in order of their Cartesian coordinates in the image plane from a predetermined point of origin; searching, in the reference set and in the current set, a common path of similar minutiae; and considering that there is an identity between the two images if the common path is comprised of a number of segments greater than a first threshold.