8 P.M. v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT into force of the Convention in respect of Bulgaria disclosed a breach of Article 3 under its procedural limb (see Tuna, cited above, § 63). 2. Exhaustion of domestic remedies and conclusion on admissibility 59. The Court notes that the applicant did not appeal against the decision of the Regional Court of 20 October 2006 to terminate the criminal proceedings against Mr T.Z. as time-barred (see paragraph 51 above). Nevertheless, in view of the clear-cut domestic legislation and case-law on the statutory period of limitation (see paragraph 52 above), it does not appear that a cassation appeal by the applicant would have offered any prospect of a different outcome. The Court therefore considers that the complaint under Article 3 cannot be dismissed for failure to exhaust domestic remedies. 60. It further notes that the complaint under Article 3 is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention and is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible. B. Merits 1. The parties’ submissions 61. The applicant stated that although she had been a victim of a serious sexual assault at the young age of thirteen, the authorities had unduly delayed the gathering of evidence for more than ten years, thus preventing the establishment of the truth and the punishment of the offenders. She complained, in effect, that there had been no effective official investigation of the offences, affecting her personal integrity, of which she had been a victim. 62. The Government stated that they would leave it to the Court to decide whether Article 3 had been violated. They acknowledged that during the pre-trial stage the proceedings had been suspended for a considerable period of time. Nevertheless, they argued that the authorities had conducted a thorough and careful investigation and that no delays had occurred during the trial. 2. The Court’s assessment 63. The relevant principles concerning the State’s obligation inherent in Article 3 of the Convention to investigate cases of ill-treatment, and in particular sexual abuse, committed by private individuals, are set out in M.C., cited above, §§ 148-153. 64. As regards the Convention requirements relating to the effectiveness of an investigation, the Court has held that it should in principle be capable