in case A-62/84 had been pending for over six years at first instance; as any judgement could be appealed to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, the author surmises that Ximena Vicario would reach legal age (18 years) without a final solution to her, and the author's, plight. Therefore, the judicial process should be deemed to have been "unreasonably prolonged". circumstances by the competent authorities seized of the matter. 4.2 In the author's case, the State party notes, new factual and legal circumstances have come to light which will require further judicial proceedings and decisions; the latter in turn may provide the author with an effective remedy. Thus, a complaint was filed on 13 February 1990 in the Federal Court of First Instance by the Federal Prosecutor charged with the investigation of the cases of the children of disappeared persons; the case was registered under case file A-56/90. On 16 September 1990, the Prosecutor submitted a report from a professor of juvenile clinical psychology of the University of Buenos Aires, which addressed the impact of the visits from S.S. on the mental health of Ximena Vicario; the report recommended that the visiting rights regime should be reviewed. 5.2 The author contends that the Supreme Court's decision denying her standing in the judicial proceedings binds all other Argentine tribunals and therefore extends the violations suffered by her to all grandparents and parents of disappeared children in Argentina. In support of her contention, she cites a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal of La Plata, concerning a case similar to hers. These judgements, in her opinion, have nothing "provisional" about them. In fact, the psychological state of Ximena Vicario is said to have deteriorated to such an extent that, on an unspecified date, a judge denied S.S. the month of summer vacation with Ximena Vicario she had requested; however, the judge authorized S.S. to spend a week with Ximena Vicario in April 1991. The author concludes that she should be deemed to have complied with the admissibility criteria of the Optional Protocol. 4.3 The State party further indicates that before the civil courts in the province of Buenos Aires (Juzgado en lo Civil No. 10 del Departamento Judicial de Morón) an action initiated by the author had been pending, with a view to declaring the adoption of Ximena Vicario by S.S. invalid. On 9 August 1991, the Juzgado en lo Civil No. 10 held that Ximena Vicario's adoption and her birth inscription as R.P.S. were invalid. The decision is on appeal before the Supreme Court of the province of Buenos Aires. Committee's decision on admissibility 6.1 During its forty-fifth session the Committee considered the admissibility of the communication. The Committee took note of the State party's observations, according to which several judicial actions which potentially might provide the author with a satisfactory remedy were pending. It noted, however, that the author had availed herself of domestic appeals procedures, including an appeal to the Supreme Court of Argentina, and that her appeals had been unsuccessful. In the circumstances, the author was not required, for purposes of article 5, paragraph 2 (b), of the Optional Protocol, to repetition the Argentine courts if new circumstances arose in the dispute over the guardianship of Ximena Vicario. 4.4 Finally, the State party notes that criminal proceedings against S.S. remain pending, for the alleged offences of falsification of documents and kidnapping of a minor. A final decision in this matter has not been taken. 4.5 The State party concludes that, in the light of the provisional nature of decisions in guardianship proceedings, it is important to await the outcome of the various civil and criminal actions pending in the author's case and that of Ximena Vicario, as this may modify the author's and Ximena Vicario's situation. Accordingly, the State party requests the Committee to decide that it would be inappropriate to adjudicate the matter under consideration at this time. 6.2 In respect of the author's claims under articles 2, 3, 7, 8 and 14, the Committee found that the author had failed to substantiate her claims, for purposes of admissibility. 4.6 In respect of the alleged violations of the Argentine Constitution, the State party affirms that it is beyond the Committee's competence to evaluate the compatibility of judicial decisions with domestic law, and that this part of the communication should be declared inadmissible. 7. On 8 July 1992 the Human Rights Committee decided that the communication was admissible in so far as it might raise issues under articles 16, 17, 23, 24 and 26 of the Covenant. 5.1 In her comments, the author contends that no new circumstances have arisen that would justify a modification of her initial claims submitted to the Committee. Thus, her granddaughter continues to receive regular visits from S.S., and the civil and criminal proceedings against the latter have not shown any notable progress. The author points out that by the spring of 1991, the criminal proceedings Author's and State party's further submissions on the merits 8.1 By note verbale of 7 September 1992, the State party forwarded the text of the decision 49