12 (a) It is inadmissible that the State should present arguments disputing the existence of the alleged violations, in order to avoid the Court ruling on the merits of the case; and (b) The facts that are the subject of this case occurred after the date on which Nicaragua accepted the Court’s jurisdiction. 60. The Commission requested the Court to reject “summarily” the fourth preliminary objection, and indicated that it was “clearly inadmissible” for the State to present exclusively “arguments on the merits [...] of the alleged violations[,]in order to avoid the Court ruling on the merits of the case.” Arguments of the representatives of the alleged victims 61. The representatives requested the Court to “postpone considering the State’s [first] objection until the merits stage of the case and then reject it, because there have been violations of the American Convention,” and they contended that: (a) The first objection is not a genuine preliminary objection, “but rather mere objections of the State that refer to the merits of the case”; (b) The debate on whether the State has incurred international responsibility for violating the American Convention, “could only constitute a preliminary objection if the application did not present facts that constitute a violation of the Convention,” and this has not occurred in the instant case; and (c) Pursuant to Nicaragua’s ratification of the Convention and acceptance of the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction, the Court has jurisdiction to hear any case on the interpretation and application of the Convention. 62. The representatives requested the Court “to consider [the fourth preliminary objection] when considering the merits of this case” and indicated that: (a) The fourth objection is not a genuine preliminary objection, “but rather simple objections” that “inevitably refer to the merits of the case”; and (b) They requested the Court to “declare that the Commission has full powers to submit this case to the consideration of the Court under Article 61(1) of the American Convention and Article 32 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court, since the procedures established in Articles 44 to 51 of the Convention have been exhausted.” Considerations of the Court 63. The Court considers that the arguments put forward by the State concerning the first and fourth preliminary objections refer to the merits of the case; namely, the existence or not of violations of the American Convention. 64. The application filed by the Commission before the Court sets out a series of facts that describe possible violations of the provisions of the American Convention. Both the Commission and the representatives of the alleged victims have submitted arguments that refer to violations of this treaty allegedly committed by Nicaragua. The