B. The petition The first observation that needs to be made about the petition that initiates a procedure before the Commission and that may end up in the Court is that compliance with the rule on prior exhaustion of domestic remedies is equally and fundamentally an obligation of the victim or the petitioner. This is the party that must comply with the requirement for prior exhaustion of domestic remedies, and who, in order to argue the violation before the inter-American jurisdiction,22 must have done so already before the relevant national judicial bodies. If this does not occur, it would be an impediment to swift, timely achievement of the abovementioned useful effect. This is why Article 28(8) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, both the current edition23 and the version in force at the time the petition was submitted, 24 says that the petition must contain information on “...any steps taken to exhaust domestic remedies, or the impossibility of doing so as provided in Article 31 of these Rules of Procedure”. It is worth noting that any reference to these Rules of Procedure points to the understanding held by the Commission itself when it approved this legal instrument and its interpretation of the provisions of the Convention, and more significantly for the purpose at hand, Article 46(1)(a) thereof. It is clearly for the same reason that Article 31(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission refers to a situation in which “the petitioner contends that he or she is unable to prove compliance with the requirement...” What this provision says is that the strictly delimited exceptions to the rule on prior exhaustion of domestic remedies are established in favor of the victim or petitioner. Consequently, it is the petitioner and only the petitioner who can allege or assert any exceptions to the rule, not the Commission, and clearly, therefore, this can be done only at the time the petition is lodged. The second comment about the petition points to the words of this same Article 46(1) of the Convention, which describes it has having been “lodged”, certainly implying that the petition should be considered as is, and if in this state it meets the requirements set forth in the article, it should be “admitted”. The requirement for prior exhaustion of domestic remedies called for in Article 46(1)(a) of the Convention needs to have been met by the petition at the time it is first submitted, and only if it has been, may the petition be “admitted” by the Commission. 22 Art. 44 of the Convention: “Any person or group of persons, or any nongovernmental entity legally recognized in one or more member states of the Organization, may lodge petitions with the Commission containing denunciations or complaints of violation of this Convention by a State Party.” Art. 61(1) of the Convention: “Only the States Parties and the Commission shall have the right to submit a case to the Court.” Approved by the Commission at its 137th Regular Period of Sessions, held from October 28 to November 13, 2009, and modified on September 2nd, 2011 and during the 147th Regular Period of Sessions, held from 8 to 22 March 2013, for entry into force on August 1st, 2013. 23 Approved by the Commission at its 109th regular period of sessions, held from December 4 to 8, 2000, and modified at its 116th regular period of sessions, held from October 7 to 25, 2002. 24 6