1. Exhaustion of internal remedies 23. Article 46.1 of the American Convention establishes as an admissibility requirement the prior exhaustion of internal remedies available within the State. The petitioners argue that the decision by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice dated November 5, 1999, which denied the constitutional protection sought in order to remedy alleged violations of due process in the procedure to remove Mr. Colindres from office, marked the exhaustion of internal remedies in El Salvador. The State confirms this assertion. Consequently, the Commission finds that the requirement of Article 46.1 of the American Convention has been met. 2. Filing deadline 24. Article 46.1.b of the Convention provides that petitions must be filed within six months after the petitioner is notified of the final decision exhausting the internal remedies. The last domestic court decision was issued on November 5, 1999, and the petition was received by the Commission on May 4, 2000, that is to say, within the time frame prescribed by Article 46.1.b of the Convention. 3. Duplication of procedures and international res iudicata 25. The Commission finds that the substance of the petition is not pending in another international settlement procedure and does not substantially duplicate a previous petition examined by the Commission or other international organizations. Accordingly, the requirements of Articles 46.1.c and 47.d of the Convention have been met. 4. Characterization of the events alleged 26. In this case, it is not appropriate for the Commission at this stage of the procedure to decide whether the alleged violations of the American Convention took place. For admissibility purposes, all that the IACHR must decide at this point is whether events are alleged that, if proven, could embody violations of the Convention, as stipulated in Article 47.b thereof, and whether the petition is "manifestly groundless," that is to say, "obviously out of order," as defined in paragraph c. 27. The standard to be used in assessing these matters differs from the standard required to decide the substance of the case. The IACHR must make a prima facie assessment to determine whether the 7