later be undone, for example the execution of a death sentence or deportation to a country where the complainant would face a risk of torture. They do not imply a determination on the admissibility or the merits of the case, but for a committee to consider that the alleged victim would suffer irreparable harm, the case must have a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits. If the complainant wishes the committee to issue a request for interim measures, he/she should state this explicitly and explain in detail why such action is necessary. It takes several working days for a committee to process a request for interim measures. Any such request should therefore reach the secretariat as early as possible before the action that the complainant is seeking to prevent could materialize. A committee may withdraw a request for interim measures on the basis of information received from the parties to the complaint suggesting that such measures are no longer required. Admissibility of the complaint Before a committee can consider a complaint on its merits or substance, it must be satisfied that the formal requirements of admissibility are met. When examining admissibility, it may consider one or several of the following factors: • If the complainant is acting on behalf of another person, has he or she obtained sufficient authorization or otherwise justified the reasons for doing so? • Is the complainant (or the person on whose behalf the complaint is brought) a victim of the alleged violation? It has to be shown that the alleged victim is personally and directly affected by the law, policy, practice, act or omission of the State party which constitutes the object of the complaint. It is not sufficient simply to challenge a law or State policy or practice in the abstract (so-called actio popularis) without demonstrating how the alleged victim is individually affected. • Is the complaint compatible with the provisions of the treaty invoked? The alleged violation must relate to a right actually protected by the treaty. For instance, a complaint filed under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights cannot concern a violation of the right to property, since the Covenant does not protect that right. In such a case, the claim would be, in legal terms, inadmissible ratione materiae. 7