3.

Without prejudice to the rights of the defence, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that in criminal investigations and proceedings in respect of any of the offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3: interviews with the child victim take place without unjustified delay after the facts have been reported to the competent authorities; interviews with the child victim take place, where necessary, in premises designed or adapted for that purpose; interviews with the child victim are carried out, where necessary, by or through professionals trained for that purpose; the same persons, if possible and where appropriate, conduct all the interviews with the child victim; the number of interviews is as limited as possible and interviews are carried out only where strictly necessary for the purposes of criminal investigations and proceedings; the child victim may be accompanied by a representative or, where appropriate, an adult of the child’s choice, unless a reasoned decision has been made to the contrary in respect of that person.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.