6 Recommendations for the Medical Examination and Report Detailed considerations for interviews, medical history, physical examination, psychological/psychiatric evaluation and the medico-legal report fall outside the scope of this manual and are not included in the text. They are described in several works, such as the Istanbul Protocol22 and the Medical Investigation and Documentation of Torture23. In the text below there are some additional comments only. a. Involvement of local experts Where possible, it can be beneficial to carry out the examination together with a local team of health professionals, provided that the examinee consents to this and all parties feel comfortable with the arrangement. If local expertise exists, collaboration with an international team can help give weight to the local expertise. If adequate local expertise does not exist, the interaction with international experts can serve as a capacity building exercise, but care is required not to confuse the purpose of the mission with a training exercise. Where relevant, the medicolegal report can be co-signed by the international and local examination team. In any case, meetings with local forensic doctors or health practitioners from centres or institutions where forensic examinations are usually performed 28 are recommended. These experts can be identified in cooperation with local partners. b. Time required for the examination Examiners should always allocate at least twice the time they usually allocate in routine forensic examinations. In addition, more examination time is needed for interpretation. Sometimes extraordinary conditions may prevent a thorough evaluation of physical and psychological injuries. In these circumstances the team must decide whether or not to continue the evaluation, if more proper conditions cannot be negotiated. However, performing an examination under imperfect conditions can be sometimes better than no examination. c. Photography Forensic photography is crucial for documentation of physical evidence. It is essential that the photographs are taken and handled correctly. They should be transferred to a USB flash drive as soon as possible after the examination. The expert should prioritise keeping the pictures safe. Informed consent for their use needs to be obtained from the examinee (Annex 5). For detailed guidelines please refer to the article “Photographic documentation,