Regional challenges
At an EU level, AVRs are only mandated when interviewing children under the Directive on
procedural safeguards for children.27 However, AVR is only afforded where it is proportionate in
the circumstances of the case, taking into account, inter alia, whether a lawyer is present or not and
whether the child is deprived of liberty or not, provided that the child’s best interests are always a
primary consideration. Yet, as to date, there is no requirement at the EU level to audio-visually record
police interviews for all adult suspected persons.
In the absence of a general requirement at the EU level, AVR of police interviews is not often
enshrined in domestic laws. At the time the PROCAM research was conducted in 2018, only four
countries within the EU, namely Croatia, Romania, Ireland and Portugal had adopted laws providing
for a general obligation to audio visually record questionings of all suspected persons.28 Some States
have introduced an obligation to audio-visually record interviews in their legislation but have limited
it either to certain victims and witnesses, or only to specific suspected persons, especially children.
Legal obligation to
AVR police
questionings29
For all
suspected
persons
27. Directive on procedural safeguards for children, Article 9.
28. Fair Trials, ‘PROCAM International Desk Report, audio-visual recording during interrogations’ (2018), p. 11-27, <https://www.fairtrials.org/
articles/publications/audiovisual-recordings-during-interrogations/>.
29. Ibid. The 2018 data was updated with Fair Trials regional survey in 2021 for Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and Croatia.
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Only for adult
persons in a
situation of
vulnerability
for all
suspected
persons
Belgium
X
X
X
X
X
Bulgaria
X
X
X
X
X
Croatia
V
Czech Republic
X
X
X
X
X
Cyprus
X
X
X
X
X
Estonia
X
X
X
X
X
France
X
X
X
X
V
Germany
X
X
X
X
V
Greece
X
X
X
X
X
Italy
X
V
X
X
X
Ireland
KOSOVO
Only for
Only for
suspected
children who are
persons placed
suspected or
in detention accused of crime
V
Lithuania
X
X
X
X
X
Netherlands
X
X
V
V
V
Poland
X
X
X
X
X
Portugal
v
Romania
v
Slovakia
X
X
X
X
X
Spain
X
X
X
X
X
Explanation of symbols: “X” means no legal obligation to AV record police questionings of the
respective group of suspected persons or for certain offences only exists in the country, “V” means a
legal obligation does exist.
29. Ibid. The 2018 data was updated with Fair Trials regional survey in 2021 for Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain and Croatia.
13