48. It is important to point out that the analysis of this case follows the findings in previous cases by both the Inter-American Court24 and the Inter-American Commission25, which indicate that relatives of allegedly disappeared children in El Salvador have not been able to access the available and effective remedies in the terms stated in Article 46 of the American Convention. 49. Based on the foregoing analysis, the Commission concludes that the exceptions allowed under articles 46(2) (b and c) of the American Convention to the rule stipulated in Article 46(1) thereof apply in the present case. Finally, invoking the exceptions to the Convention’s rule requiring exhaustion of local remedies is closely connected to the determination of possible violations of certain Convention-protected rights, such as effective judicial protection. However, Article 46(2) of the Convention, by its nature and purpose, has a content that is independent of and separate from the substantive norms of the Convention. Therefore, the determination as to whether the exceptions to the domestic remedies rule apply to the case in question must be made prior to and separate from the examination of the merits, since it hinges on a standard of assessment different from the one used to establish the violation of Articles 8 and 25 of the Convention. 2. Deadline for presentation of the petition 50. In the case of the petition under study, the Commission has established that the exception allowed under Convention Article 46(2)(b and c) applies, so that the Article 46(1)(a) rule requiring exhaustion of local remedies does not apply. The rule requiring that the petition be lodged within six months is also not applicable. The Commission, then, must determine whether the petition sub examine was lodged within a reasonable period of time based on the provisions of Article 32(2) of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, i.e., taking into account the date on which the alleged violation was said to have occurred and the circumstances of each case. 51. Taking into account the date on which the facts alleged occurred and the possibility that the case may be one of a continuing violation of human rights in the form of the forced disappearance being alleged, and considering the question of various domestic remedies in El Salvador, the Commission finds that the petition under study was lodged within a reasonable time period. 3. Duplication of proceedings and res judicata 52. Challenges based on the requirements set forth in Article 46(1)(d) and Article 47(d) of the Convention have not been brought by the State and are not suggested by the information in the case file. 4. Characterization of the facts alleged 53. The Commission observes that the petition alleges the forced disappearance of children. The petitioners contend that their case of forced disappearance was not an isolated incident but part of a systematic practice of forced disappearance of children during the internal conflict in El Salvador between 1980 and 1992. In examining the context in which the alleged facts occurred, one of the IACHR’s considerations is that the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador has examined the consequences of the forced disappearances in that country. The IACHR therefore concludes that the petitioners’ complaint describes acts that, if proven, could constitute violations of rights protected by articles 5, 7, 8, 17, 19 and 25 of the American 24 I/A Court H.R., Case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters. Judgment of March 1, 2005. Series C No. 120; IACHR, Report No. 31/01, Case 12,132, Admissibility, Ernestina y Erlinda Serrano Cruz, El Salvador, February 23, 2005; Report No. 56/05, Admissibility, Ana Julia and Carmelina Mejía Ramírez, El Salvador, October 12, 2005; Report No. 53/05, Admissibility, José Rubén Rivera, El Salvador, October 12, 2005; Report No. 11/05, Admissibility, Gregoria Herminia, Serapio Cristián and Julia Inés Contreras, El Salvador, February 23; Report No. 11/08, Admissibility, Emelinda Lorena Hernández, El Salvador, March 5, 2008 and Report No. 10/08, Admissibility,Santos Ernesto Salinas, El Salvador, March 5, 2008. 25 10