2. Use of medical reports Indicators: - - Does the legislation provide for the possibility of a medical report in support of the applicant’s statements regarding past persecution or serious harm? Yes Yes, but not in all cases No Are medical reports taken into account when assessing the credibility of the applicant’s statements? Yes No According to the law, if there are strong indications during the interview that the applicant has been subjected to torture, they shall be referred to a specialized medical centre, or a doctor or a psychologist of a public hospital, who shall make a report on the existence of injuries that could be the result of maltreatment or of indications of torture. However, in practice, even when applicants mention that they are victims of torture they are still not referred to a specialized centre during the first instance personal interview. On the other hand, their interview is postponed if they ask for it, in order to submit the above mentioned report. The Appeal Boards do not always make such referrals. The above mentioned guarantees shall also apply during the interviews with regards to the appeals procedure as well as during any necessary supplementary examination, which takes place in case that doubts have arisen or more explicit information about the examined case is needed. According to Article 10 Presidential Decree 114/10 the personal interview may be omitted where: a. the Determining Authority, namely the Secretary General of Public Order of the Ministry of Citizen Protection, is able to take a positive decision on the basis of available evidence, or b. it is not feasible, in particular where the applicant is unfit or unable to be interviewed owing to enduring circumstances beyond their control. Such inability must be certified by a relevant medical or psychological certificate from a public hospital. In practice, the applicants themselves or usually their legal counsellor, if they had one, must get such a certificate. Certificates by NGOs providing psychological support had not been accepted neither by officials at first instance interview not by the Appeal Boards. The medical examination and report is provided for free by the above mentioned NGO Metadrasi as long as it is funded by EU projects for this purpose. There is no provision by the law on the typology of medical reports. The medical reports provided by Metadrasi (the only one at the moment providing legal-medical reports) are based on the methodology laid down in the Istanbul Protocol (Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 52 of Punishment). However, in a recent Council of State decision it has been ruled that the medico-legal reports of METADRASI, which is not a public organization, lack the necessary State authority and therefore cannot be considered as proof of torture. This leaves torture survivors in a limbo, as there are no public health structures specialised in assisting them and certifying their status and the established NGO METADRASI which provides such assistance and certification is considered non- authoritative and thus is not of use when it comes to proving their status. 3. Age assessment and legal representation of unaccompanied children 52 Council of State Decision No. 1482/2011. 33