The Afnic Legal Meetings were held on 26 September 2024. This was the occasion to present the first annual report on Afnic’s mediation service. This amicable resolution service for domain name disputes was launched in July 2023 as a complement to the PARL Expert and Syreli alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. After one year of operation all the indications are that the introduction of this simple, rapid, free service has been a success.
The 2024 edition of the Afnic Legal Meetings was held on 26 September 2024 in the association’s new headquarters in Guyancourt, Yvelines. Some 50 participants accepted the invitation of Afnic’s legal team, the creator and organiser of this annual rendezvous.
Afnic’s legal experts recounted their experience monitoring the mechanisms for combating abuse as regards .fr and French overseas domain names. The newest of these mechanisms is the mediation service. Launched one year ago, Afnic offers it free of charge as a prelude to the other ADR procedures.
Successful first year
Between July 2023 and July 2024, Afnic received 108 applications for mediation.
Of these applications, 42% led to mediation, meaning that the holder agreed to take part in the mediation procedure, while 58% of the procedures opened ended with a definitive agreement.
In practice, 95% of the agreements reached concerned the transfer of a domain name and 5% concerned deletion.
On average, the parties took just four business days to reach agreement, which indicates the effectiveness of the service.
Open the datavisualization of the first year review 2023-2024 of the Mediation Service (PNG - 2 Mo)
Satisfied users
In a satisfaction survey launched in February 2024 among the applicants, 100% of the respondents said they would recommend Afnic’s mediation service. They stressed the simplicity and effectiveness of the mediation, the clarity of the information provided and the availability of the mediator.
Mediation has indeed allowed the resolution of many disputes that would otherwise have needed longer and more costly extrajudicial procedures. The six mediators, all sector professionals, played a key role in facilitating discussions and helping parties reach satisfactory agreements.
This first year of mediation thus confirms Afnic’s effectiveness in resolving disputes fast and amicably.
To find out more
For further information or to file a request for mediation: mediation.afnic.fr
See the Report on Afnic’s Mediation Service - First Year, 2023-2024 - PDF (1 Mo)About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.