respect to the instant petition, the Bolivian State did not argue that domestic remedies were not exhausted in the first phases of the procedure. 22. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has maintained, on repeated occasions, that: “the objection asserting the non-exhaustion of domestic remedies, to be timely, must be made at an early stage of the proceedings by the State entitled to make it, lest a waiver of the requirement be presumed.” 23. The Commission therefore holds that the Bolivian State waived its right to argue that domestic remedies had not been exhausted, in that it failed to do so at the first available opportunity in the proceedings – that is, in its reply to the petition with which the proceedings began. 2. Timeliness of the petition 24. In the instant case, the IACHR has established that the Bolivian State tacitly waived its right to argue that domestic remedies were not exhausted, and so the requirement contained in Article 46(1)(b) of the American Convention does not apply. However, the Convention’s requirements that domestic remedies be exhausted and that the petition be lodged within six months following the judgment exhausting domestic jurisdiction are independent. The Inter-American Commission must therefore decide whether this petition was submitted within a reasonable delay. Consequently, the IACHR notes that, according to the petition, the victims were released on July 3, 2001, and that the original complaint was received on April 25, 2002. The IACHR therefore holds that it was lodged within a reasonable time in light of the characteristics of the case.9 3. Duplication of proceedings and res judicata 25. The case file does not indicate that the substance of the petition is pending in any other international settlement proceeding or that it is substantially the same as any other petition already examined by this Commission or any other international body. Hence, the requirements set forth in Articles 46(1)(c) and 47(d) of the Convention have been met. 4. Nature of the alleged violations 26. The Commission believes that the petitioners’ allegations – to the effect that Mr. Rumaldo Juan Pacheco Osco and Mrs. Fredesvinda Tineo Godos, together with their three children, were subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, arbitrarily denied their freedom, and refused access to justice and freedom of movement and residence – could constitute violations of the right to humane treatment, to personal liberty, and to a fair trial, of the rights of the child, and of the right of freedom of movement and residence, enshrined in Articles 5, 7, 8, 19, and 22 of the American Convention, and of the general obligation of respecting and ensuring the rights protected by the Convention set forth in its Article 1(1). Additionally, according to the general principle of international law iura novit curia international bodies have the power and even the duty to apply all pertinent legal provisions, even if these have not been 9 IACHR, Report Nº 31/03, Petition 12.195, Chile, March 7, 2003; IACHR, Report Nº 57/03, Petition 12.337, Chile, October 10, 2003; IACHR, Report Nº 3/02, Petition 11.498, Argentina, February 27, 2002.