5 remedy would still have been admissible through the complementary function of civil procedure with respect to criminal law. 6 23. In addition, El Salvador maintains that the petitioners’ contentions regarding the involvement of state agents in the alleged forced disappearances are not supported by any evidence; it also states that the investigations into the matter being pursued by the State are at the preparatory stage. Additionally, it holds that the searches (or inspections) referred to by the petitioners in the incident are exceptional mechanisms reserved for extraordinary cases – such as an armed conflict – and that the reason for their existence arises from the need to ensure the security of the population; and it further maintains that during the Salvadoran Civil War, such searches were not solely conducted by the armed forces, but also by groups of outlaws. 24. On June 14, 2010, the State reported that on June 1, 2009, the government adopted a new vision of its human rights obligations, recognizing that during the internal armed conflict, practices such as the forced disappearance of persons did take place. With reference to the instant case, it noted that the three judicial proceedings referred to by the petitioners (case file 1287-UDV03, criminal proceedings No. 392/82, and the habeas corpus filing) were sent to the archive on the decision of the corresponding competent authorities. 25. In conclusion, the State maintains that the petition is inadmissible on account of the failure to exhaust domestic remedies, and it asks the IACHR to issue a ruling in that sense. IV. ANALYSIS ON COMPETENCE AND ADMISSIBILITY A. Competence ratione personae, ratione loci, ratione temporis, and ratione materiae of the Inter-American Commission 26. The petitioners are entitled, under Article 44 of the American Convention, to lodge complaints with the IACHR. The petition names, as its alleged victims, individuals with respect to whom the State had agreed to respect and ensure the rights enshrined in the American Convention. As regards the State, the Commission notes that El Salvador has been a state party to the American Convention since June 23, 1978, the date on which it deposited its instrument of ratification. The Commission therefore has competence ratione personae to examine the complaint. The Commission has also competence ratione loci to deal with the petition since it alleges violations of rights protected by the American Convention occurring within the territory of El Salvador, which is a state party to that treaty. 27. The Commission has competence ratione temporis since the obligation of respecting and ensuring the rights protected by the American Convention was already in force for the State on the date on which the incidents described in the petition allegedly occurred. Finally, the Commission has competence ratione materiae since the petition describes possible violations of human rights that are protected by the American Convention. B. Exhaustion of domestic remedies 28. Article 46.1.a of the American Convention states that, for a complaint lodged with the Inter-American Commission to be admissible under Article 44 of the Convention, the remedies available under domestic law must have first been pursued and exhausted in accordance with 6 The State bases this argument on Article 711 of the aforesaid Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides: “The provisions of civil procedure shall apply to criminal procedure in all matters not expressly regulated by this Code and not opposed to the doctrine on which it is based.”