Mediation Procedure

Afnic provides a mediation service to be used by anyone (natural or legal person) as an amicable means of resolving disputes between rights holders and holders of domain names under one of the TLDs managed by Afnic (.fr and French overseas TLDs¹). Entirely free of charge, this procedure is made available on a voluntary basis ahead of an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) procedure² to facilitate the handling of disputes concerning domain names.

Whether you are a domain name holder or rights holder, this procedure is designed for you in the case where you consider that you have reached a communication impasse or a dispute with the other Party concerning a domain name under one of the TLDs managed by Afnic.

This form allows you to ask Afnic to appoint a mediator to handle the organisation of a mediation procedure for the dispute in question.

Afnic’s actions

As soon as the request is received, the Mediator shall take steps to contact the other Party in order to obtain his or her consent.
If after seven (7) business days the Mediator has not received a response from the other Party, or if the response received is negative, the Procedure shall come to an end.
Once the Mediator has obtained the other Party’s consent, he or she shall inform both Parties by email of the opening of the Procedure.

Before making a request, please refer to the regulations governing the mediation procedure (PDF – 483 Ko).

Afnic mediation procedure :
- The request is submitted on the website afnic.fr.
- The mediator is then appointed in accordance with the principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.
- The mediator obtains the other Party’s consent.
- Without the consent of the other Party, the mediation request is closed. It is subsequently possible to use the dispute resolution procedures (ADR).
- If the other Party agrees to the mediation, a first meeting is set up and a solution must be found within 7 business days.
- Beyond these 7 business days, if the Parties do not reach an agreement, the mediation is brought to an end. It is subsequently possible to use the dispute resolution procedures (ADR).
- Beyond these 7 business days, if the Parties do not reach an agreement, there are 3 possible solutions:
  - deletion of the domain name
  - transfer of the domain name
  - a solution not entailing any operation on the domain name
- In the case of deletion or transfer of the domain name, the report is signed by both Parties before implementation of the solution identified by Afnic, bringing an end to the mediation.
- In the case of a solution not entailing any operation on the domain name, the Afnic mediator notifies the Parties of a report, bringing an end to the mediation.

Request the assistance of an Afnic mediator free of charge

Information concerning the applicant

Name (company) of the applicant

Surname *

First name *

Address / Street *

City *

Post Code *

Country *

Email address *

Telephone number *

Information concerning the applicant’s representative (optional)

(Complete only if the right holder mandates a third party to make this request to Afnic)

I mandate a third party to make this request to Afnic

Name (company) of the applicant’s representative

Surname *

First name *

Address / Street *

City *

Post Code *

Country *

Email address *

Telephone number *

Presentation of the other Party to the dispute

Name (company) of the other Party to the dispute

Surname *

First name *

Address / Street *

City *

Post Code *

Country *

Email address *

Telephone number *

Reason for the request

Domain name under dispute *

Short description of the dispute and your expectations *

I hereby certify that there is no ongoing judicial or extra-judicial procedure concerning the domain name under dispute

I have taken note of the Mediation Regulations and hereby accept the terms thereof.

Your commitments as applicant

If the mediation procedure is opened, the applicant, the other party to the procedure and their representatives, the Mediator and Afnic are bound by strict confidentiality on all matters concerning the mediation; no observation, statement or proposal, made before of by the Mediator, and no document produced in the course of the mediation, may be subsequently used, even before the courts, without the formal agreement of the Parties, the Mediator and Afnic.

Information on the processing of your personal data & the exercise of your personal rights

Mandatory information that must be provided is indicated with an asterisk. If the information marked by an asterisk is not provided, your request will not be taken into account.

The information collected, required for the provision of the Afnic mediation service, is subject to computer processing by Afnic, the data controller, in order to manage the mediation service. The legal basis for processing is the performance of a public service (Article 6–1. e of the GDPR), in this case the agreement between the State and Afnic signed on 18 March 2022, Article L45-2 of the CPCE, the Naming Policy and the Regulations.

The data recipients are the mediator, the Afnic legal department, the service provider hosting the afnic.fr website and the registrar(s) impacted by the implementation of the negotiated solution.

Your identifying information as well as the exchanges and attachments relating to the handling of your request are destroyed after two months as of the date of implementation of the negotiated solution.

You have personal rights (of access to and rectification and erasure of the data, the right to restrict their processing, the right to lodge a complaint with a controlling authority and the right to lay down guidelines relating to the retention, erasure and communication of your personal data in the event of your death) which you can exercise by contacting the Afnic DPO at dpo@afnic.fr.

For more information on this processing, please see the description on the page: Your data

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