21. The Commission indicated that the State’s allegation did not constitute a preliminary objection because it did not refer to issues of jurisdiction, or to the admissibility requirements established in the Convention. It also asserted that the report issued under Article 50 of the Convention constituted a preliminary report of a confidential nature, which could lead to two actions: submission of the case to the Court or publication of the report. However, once one of those options had been chosen, the report relinquished its initial nature. The Commission indicated that, after submitting the matter to the Court, it had published the final report (on Admissibility and Merits) on its website according to its consistent practice; an action that did not violate the Convention. Furthermore, the Commission observed that the State’s indication that the Admissibility and Merits Report had been published before the case was submitted to the Court related to an electronic link with access as of September 10, 2015, which was after the submission of the case. Lastly, the Commission indicated that the State had failed to present any evidence of this supposedly undue publication. 22. The representatives indicated that the State had not presented any argument based on person, matter, time or place that could affect the Court’s competence, and therefore asked the Court to reject this objection. In addition, they indicated that the State was attempting to present aspects of the procedure before the Commission as a preliminary objection. Lastly, the representatives argued that the publication of the Merits Report did not constitute a grave error, and it was not prohibited from publishing it. A.2. Considerations of the Court 23. This Court has consistently interpreted that Articles 50 and 51 of the Convention allude to two different reports; the first identified as a preliminary report and the second as the final report. Each report has a distinct nature, because they correspond to different stages. 20 24. The preliminary report responds to the first stage of the procedure and is established in Article 50 of the Convention, which stipulates that, “if a settlement is not reached, the Commission shall draw up a report setting forth the facts and stating its conclusions”; the report is then forwarded to the State concerned. This document is of a preliminary nature, so that the report transmitted to the State is confidential in nature to allow the latter to adopt the Commission’s suggestions and recommendations and thus settle the dispute. The preliminary and confidential nature of the document means that the State is not authorized to publish it. Accordingly, based on the principles of equality and procedural balance between the parties, it is reasonable to consider that the Commission, also, is unable, either practically or legally, to publish this preliminary report.21 25. When three months have elapsed, if the matter has not been resolved by the State to which the preliminary report was sent by complying with the recommendations made therein, the Commission is authorized, within that period, to decide whether to submit the case to the Court or to publish the report in accordance with Article 51. 22 26. Therefore, the report established in Article 50 may be published, provided this occurs after the case has been submitted to the Court. This is because, at that moment of the procedure, the State is aware of its contents and has had the opportunity to comply with the recommendations. Therefore, it cannot be considered that the principle of the procedural balance between the parties has been violated. This has been the Commission’s consistent practice for many years, in particular since the 2009 amendment of its Rules of Procedure. Cf. Certain attributes of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Arts. 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 50 and 51 of the American Convention on Human Rights), Advisory Opinion OC-13/93 of July 16, 1993, para. 53. 20 21 Cf. Certain attributes of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, para. 48. 22 Cf. Certain attributes of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, para. 50. 10