ĐORĐEVIĆ v. CROATIA JUDGMENT 35 the fact that the national authorities, although aware of that situation, failed to take appropriate measures to prevent further harassment. Thus, the situation called for an immediate reaction by the State authorities. The Government have not shown that any of the remedies referred to by them could be capable of leading to such an immediate response to the situation of harassment. 109. Thus, regarding an “action against an unlawful act” and a civil action for damages against the State under the Civil Obligations Act, the Government have not shown that these remedies would have been capable of leading to the prompt and appropriate measures that were necessary in the circumstances of the present case. 110. At this juncture the Court reiterates that the rationale behind the requirement of the exhaustion of domestic remedies is the subsidiary nature of the Convention instruments, that is to say, the principle that the national authorities must first be given the opportunity to remedy the violation complained of. In this connection the Court notes that the second applicant repeatedly complained about the ongoing harassment to various national authorities, such as the police and the State Attorney’s Office, the competent social welfare centre and the school the children concerned attended. The Court considers that she thus gave the relevant authorities adequate opportunity to react to her allegations and put an end to the harassment complained of. She has therefore exhausted the available domestic remedies. 111. Furthermore, the applicants alleged deficiencies in the national system for the protection of persons with disabilities from acts of harassment and violence, including the legal framework within which the competent authorities are to operate and the mechanisms provided for. In this connection the Court notes that the Government have not shown that these issues could have been examined in any of the types of proceedings they relied on. 112. It follows that the applicants were not required to avail themselves also of the remedies suggested by the Government. In reaching this conclusion, the Court has taken into consideration the specific circumstances of the present case, as well as the fact that a right as fundamental as the right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment is at stake and that the Convention is intended to guarantee rights that are not theoretical or illusory, but rights that are practical and effective (see, for example, Matthews v. the United Kingdom [GC], no. 24833/94, § 34, ECHR 1999-I). Accordingly, the Government’s objection has to be dismissed. (c) Conclusion 113. The Court finds that the complaints under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35