leave the State defenseless, because it could not file the pertinent preliminary objection in time and in due form. d. Decision on Admissibility. Article 31(1) of the Rules of Procedure, entitled “Exhaustion of domestic remedies,” establishes that: “In order to decide on the admissibility of a matter, the Commission shall verify whether the remedies of the domestic legal system have been pursued and exhausted in accordance with the generally recognized principles of international law.” 26 It is worth noting that this provision states that in order to decide on the admissibility of a matter, the Commission must “verify” - that is, confirm or ascertain - whether the remedies under domestic law have been pursued and exhausted previously. However, it does not stipulate that such verification must be carried out with respect to remedies exhausted and filed prior to this, but only after the filing of the petition. Nor does it establish that these may be pursued and exhausted after the petition has been lodged. Moreover, Article 32(1) of said Rules, entitled “Statute of Limitation for Petitions” coincides with the above interpretation, indicating that: “The Commission shall consider those petitions that are lodged within a period of six months following the date on which the alleged victim has been notified of the decision that exhausted the domestic remedies.” 27 In other words, this rule indicates the petitions that will be considered by the Commission with respect to their admissibility and reiterates the provisions of Article 46(1)(b) of the Convention, i.e., that the time period indicated for presenting them must be counted from the moment of notification of the final decision of the domestic authorities or courts on the remedies that have been filed with them which are, therefore, those that could have generated the international responsibility of the State. This obviously implies that they must have been exhausted at the time the petition was “lodged.” According to Article 36 of the Rules of Procedure, entitled “Decision on Admissibility” “1. Once it has considered the positions of the parties, the Commission shall make a decision on the admissibility of the matter. The reports on admissibility and inadmissibility shall be public and the Commission shall include them in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS. 2. When an admissibility report is adopted, the petition shall be registered as a case and the proceedings on the merits shall be initiated. The adoption of an admissibility report does not constitute a prejudgment as to the merits of the matter. 26 The same wording as Article 31(1) and (3) of the current Rules of Procedure. 27 Idem in relation to Article 32(1) of the current Rules of Procedure. 12