Title: Stage: Initial assessment
Course: Inter-American Human Rights System - 2nd. Edition > Section: Petition and Case System

Petition process: Initial evaluation stage

The Commission's Executive Secretary carries out an initial assessment of the requirements of a petition in the order in which they are received.

In order to make this decision, the Commission takes into account whether the above-mentioned formal requirements are met, i.e. whether the Commission has jurisdiction, whether domestic remedies have been exhausted, whether it is within the time limit and whether there is duplication. In addition, an initial assessment is made as to whether the facts, if proven, characterize a violation of rights protected under the System.

The Executive Secretary may give priority to a request when there are urgent reasons to do so, for example, if the victim is young, old, has a terminal illness, or is in a generally serious situation.

At this stage, the State is not notified about the petition, meaning that the Commission only has the information presented by the petitioner.

Once the Commission has evaluated the petition, it can make a decision based on the following criteria:

- If it is considered that the petition does not meet the requirements, because domestic remedies have not been exhausted, the petition was submitted after the deadline, the petition does not allege facts that violate human rights, or the petition has already been examined by the Commission or a UN treaty body, the petition is not granted. This decision will not be notified to the State, and it will not be made public.
- If the information provided is not sufficient, additional information will be requested from the petitioner.
- If the information provided is sufficient and the requirements are met, the admissibility stage begins.

You can find more information about petitions under initial study in this fact sheet .