1) In addition to the measures provided for in Article 23 33, Member States shall ensure that where the victim is a child:

a) in criminal investigations, all interviews with the child victim may be audio-visually recorded and such recorded interviews may be used as evidence in criminal proceedings;

b) in criminal investigations and proceedings, in accordance with the role of victims in the relevant criminal justice system, competent authorities appoint a special representative for child victims where, according to national law, the holders of parental responsibility are precluded from representing the child victim as a result of a conflict of interest between them and the child victim, or where the child victim is unaccompanied or separated from the family;

c) where the child victim has the right to a lawyer, he or she has the right to legal advice and representation, in his or her own name, in proceedings where there is, or there could be, a conflict of interest between the child victim and the holders of parental responsibility. The procedural rules for the audiovisual recordings referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph and the use thereof shall be determined by national law.

2) Where the age of a victim is uncertain and there are reasons to believe that the victim is a child, the victim shall, for the purposes of this Directive, be presumed to be a child.

3) Where the offence involves the holder of parental responsibility, or there could be any other conflict of interest between the child victims and the holder of parental responsibility, Member States shall take into account the best interest of the child and ensure that any act requiring consent is not conditional upon the consent of the holder of parental responsibility.

In its proposal, the European Commission includes an additional paragraph on the right to protection of child victims during criminal proceedings. VSE is supportive of this insertion as it ensures that the best interest of the child is considered in protection measure decisions in cases of conflict of interest between children and their parents, or any other holders of parental responsibility. VSE does not propose additional changes to this article.