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.
This form allows you to ask Afnic to appoint a mediator to handle the organisation of a mediation procedure for the dispute in question.
The mediation service aims to settle disputes between a rights holder and a domain name holder; if your status corresponds to either of these parties and you have reached a communication impasse, this procedure is for you.
Before proceeding with your request, we ask you to do the following:
- check that the TLD for the domain name in question is managed by Afnic: .fr, .re, .pm, .yt, .tf and wf;
- refer to the regulations governing the Afnic mediation procedure (PDF – 266 kB).
In particular, if you are involved in a dispute with the registry responsible for your domain name, please contact the registry directly or contact our support service. For any other dispute, please refer to our report a domain name page in order to identify the appropriate point of contact.
Afnic’s actions
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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.