sometimes denied access to adequate treatment and medication for her illnesses. The Applicant was thus not in the necessary physical or mental condition to educate herself as to the existence of the Court. c. The Applicant did not have legal counsel that may have enabled her awareness of the Court’s existence until, in 2019, when the Court designated pro bono counsel to assist her. d. During the proceedings in domestic courts, she relied on public defenders appointed by the Respondent State who proved to be ineffective. In addition, the Applicant relied on the financial support of a family member to pay for advocates during the appeal proceedings. e. The Respondent State has not adduced evidence to support the claim that the Applicant is financially stable. *** 41. Pursuant to Article 56(6) of the Charter, as restated in Rule 50(2)(f) of the Rules, in order for an application to be admissible, it must be “submitted within a reasonable time from the date local remedies were exhausted or from the date set by the Court as being the commencement of the time limit within which it shall be seized with the matter”. 42. The Court notes that the Respondent State contests the admissibility of the Application on the basis of the Applicant’s failure to file it within a reasonable time after exhaustion of local remedies. The Court observes, however, that it is incumbent on it to first satisfy itself that local remedies have been exhausted before determining the reasonableness of time taken by the Applicant to file an application.8 This is because an adverse finding as to the exhaustion of local remedies would render the exercise of determining whether the Application was filed within a reasonable time superfluous. 43. The Court recalls that the Applicant was convicted by the High Court sitting at Mwanza on 19 September 2011. She then appealed to the Court of Appeal which upheld her conviction on 11 March 2013. The Applicant’s 8 Ramadhani Issa Malengo v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No. 030/2015, Ruling of 4 July 2019 (Jurisdiction and admissibility), § 38. 13