Taking into account the above-mentioned requirements, the relevant committee will decide whether to register the submitted case, i.e. to include it in the official list of cases to be considered. An appropriate notification will be sent to the applicant. At this stage, the case is forwarded to the State party concerned in order to give it an opportunity to submit its comments within the prescribed time limit.
The two main stages in the examination of a complaint are known as the admissibility stage and the merits stage. The admissibility of the case is related to the formal requirements that the complaint must meet before the relevant committee can begin to consider its merits. The substance of the case means the content of the complaint, on the basis of which the committee decides whether the rights of the alleged victim have been violated under the relevant treaty. A more detailed description of these steps is provided below. After the State has provided responses to the complaint, the applicant is given the opportunity to submit his comments.
Most Committees request the State party to submit comments within six months of the date on which the complaint was transmitted to it. A State party may challenge the admissibility of a complaint by presenting arguments within the first two months of this period. The applicant is always given the opportunity to submit comments on the State party's observations within the prescribed time limit.
After comments have been received from both sides, the case may be decided by the relevant committee. If, after receiving a number of reminders from the Secretariat, the State party has not provided any response, the Committee decides on the case on the basis of the information provided to it by the complainant.