Specifically, the petitioners allege a denial of justice in this case, in that the Chilean Supreme Court, in 2001, rejected their request for a nullification of the proceedings that led to their convictions by means of Courts Martial conducted in 1974 and 1975, proceedings, which, it is alleged, were tainted by serious violations of due process guarantees. 22. The principal argument presented in the State’s response of February 18, 2005, is that Chile is not responsible, under the American Convention on Human Rights, for violations allegedly committed during the period September 11, 1973 until March 11, 1990. The petitioners argue that Chile is not “exempt from responsibility for the acts that violate human rights, and that occurred prior to ratification, but which are guaranteed in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man [hereinafter ‘the American Declaration’], which is binding, in keeping with the advisory opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.” The Commission considers that in the instant case, the allegations only refer to the decision taken by the Chilean Supreme Court in 2001, when the Convention was already in force for Chile, consequently, the convictions of these officials by the Courts Martial conducted in 1974 and 1975 are not at issue in this case. Furthermore, the petitioners, in their complaint, do not allege violations of any specific articles of the American Declaration, consequently the Commission need not pronounce itself on this issue. 23. The petitioners are entitled, under Article 44 of the American Convention, to lodge complaints with the Commission. The petition names the alleged victims as being “Mr. Omar Maldonado Vargas et al.,” each of whom is an identified and individualized “person” under the terms of Article 1(2) of the American Convention. The Commission, therefore, has competence, ratione personae, to examine the petition. 24. The Commission has competence, ratione temporis, in that the decisions of the Chilean Supreme Court that are the basis for this complaint were issued on September 2, 2002, and December 9, 2002, when the obligation of respecting and ensuring the rights enshrined in the American Convention was already in force for the Chilean State. Chile has been a party to the American Convention since August 21, 1990, the date on which its instrument of ratification was deposited with the OAS. 25. In addition, the petitioners argued that Chile should be considered bound by the American Convention from November 22, 1969 and not from August 21, 1990. The petitioners state that “on November 22, 1969, the Government of Chile deposited the instrument of ratification of the Convention with the Secretariat of the OAS, perfecting the mechanism for triggering international obligations, and that the failure to publish it nationally in the official daily register, intentionally delayed by the military regime, was used as a pretext for repudiating its force in Chile, but on January 5, 1991, the enacting decree was issued, from which time it was in force without any doubt.” The petitioners are mistaken in this allegation in that the Government of Chile only signed the American Convention on November 22, 1969, it did not ratify the Convention until August 21, 1990, the date on which the instrument of ratification was deposited. 26. The Commission has competence, ratione loci, insofar as the alleged violations have occurred within the territory of a State Party to the American Convention. B. Other Requirements for Admissibility 1. Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies 27. The petitioners allege that with the Chilean Supreme Court decision dated December 9, 2002, which rejected the motion to reopen the Courts Martial of 1974 and 1975 for the purposes of judicial review, the remedies under Chilean domestic law were exhausted. The State did not contest that argument. Consequently, the Commission considers that the requirement stipulated in Article 46(1)(1) of the American Convention has been met. 6