1. ------IND- 2013 0627 F-- EN- ------ 20131213 --- --- PROJET
NAMING CHARTER OF THE FRENCH
A S S O C I AT I O N F O R C O O P E R AT I V E
INTERNET NAMING (AFNIC)
Rules for registering top-level internet domains corresponding to
national country codes
Ta b l e
o f
c o n t e n t s
Preamble............................................................................................................ 5
Chapter 1 - General provisions ........................................................................... 6
Article 1.1 - Purpose ............................................................................................................... 6
Article 1.2 - Constituent elements .......................................................................................... 6
Article 1.3 — Third-party effectiveness ................................................................................. 7
Chapter 2 - Rules for domain names .................................................................. 7
Article 2.1 – Domain categories ............................................................................................ 7
Article 2.2 - Syntax constraints ............................................................................................. 7
Article 2.3 - The “first come, first served” principle .............................................................. 8
Article 2.4 - Domain names subject to pre-screening........................................................... 8
Article 2.5 - The extension “gouv.fr”.................................................................................... 10
Article 2.6 - Domain names reserved for the Registration office ....................................... 10
Article 2.7 - Rights to the domain name.............................................................................. 10
Article 2.8 - Duration of validity of the domain name ........................................................ 11
Article 2.9 - Remuneration of the Registration office.......................................................... 11
Chapter 3 - Registration office........................................................................... 12
Article 3.1 - Role of the Registration office........................................................................... 12
Article 3.2 - Powers of the Registration office ..................................................................... 12
Article 3.3 - Accountability of the Registration office ......................................................... 13
Chapter 4 - Registrars ....................................................................................... 14
Article 4.1 - Role of registrars .............................................................................................. 14
Article 4.2 - Accreditation of registrars ............................................................................... 14
Article 4.3 - Registrars' responsibilities ............................................................................... 15
Chapter 5 - Rules for domain name holders ...................................................... 15
Article 5.1 - Eligibility of domain name holders .................................................................. 15
Article 5.2 - Administrative and technical contacts ............................................................ 15
Article 5.3 - Holders' responsibilities ................................................................................... 16
Chapter 6 - Domain name operations ................................................................ 16
Article 6.1 Domain name locking............................................................................... 16
Article 6.2 Domain name freezing ............................................................................. 16
Article 6.3 Domain name blocking ............................................................................ 17
Article 6.4 Voluntary transfer.................................................................................... 17
Article 6.5 Forced transfer ......................................................................................... 17
Article 6.5 - Change of registrar ..........................................................................................18
Article 6.6 - Orphan domain names.....................................................................................18
Article 6.7 - Deletion of a domain name ..............................................................................18
Chapter 7 - Dispute resolution........................................................................... 19
Article 7.1 - Judicial procedure............................................................................................. 19
Regulation 7.2 - Alternative dispute resolution procedure ................................................ 20
Chapter 8 - Personal data and information ...................................................... 20
Article 8.1 - Confidentiality ................................................................................................. 20
Article 8.2 - The Whois database ......................................................................................... 21
Article 8.3 - Personal data.................................................................................................... 21
Article 8.4 - Restricted dissemination ................................................................................. 22
Chapter 9. – Miscellaneous provisions ............................................................. 22
Article 9.1 - Agreement of proof .......................................................................................... 22
Article 9.2 - Language ......................................................................................................... 23
Article 9.3 - Applicable law ................................................................................................. 23
Article 9.4 - Applicable legislation ...................................................................................... 23
Article 9.5 - Force majeure .................................................................................................. 23
Article 9.6 - Intellectual property........................................................................................ 23
Chapter 10 – Transitional provisions ............................................................... 23
Chapter 1 - Introduction ................................................................................... 28
Article 1.1 - Definitions......................................................................................................... 28
Article 1.2 – General principles ........................................................................................... 28
Article 1.3 - Commitments ................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 2 - The nature of the Whois data ......................................................... 28
Article 2.1 – Data held in the Whois database .................................................................... 29
Article 2.2 - Data collection and updating .......................................................................... 29
Article 2.3 - Data verification.............................................................................................. 29
Chapter 3 – Data protection ............................................................................. 29
Article 3.1 – Confidentiality policy ...................................................................................... 30
Article 3.2 - Disclosure of personal data (or confidentiality waiver) ................................ 30
Chapter 4 – Access to systems and information ........................................................ 30
Article 4.1 - Services............................................................................................................. 30
Article 4.2 - Principle of limitations on access and use ....................................................... 31
Article 1 - Preamble ............................................................................................................. 34
Article 2 – Accreditation criteria ........................................................................................ 34
Article 3 – Accreditation application .................................................................................. 35
Article 4 – Financial aspects ............................................................................................... 35
Article 5 – Effects of accreditation ...................................................................................... 35
Article 6 – Confidentiality of documents provided............................................................. 36
Article 7 – Changes to accreditation documents ................................................................ 36
Article 8 — Checks ............................................................................................................... 37
Article 9 - Suspension/Withdrawal of accreditation.......................................................... 37
DISPUTE MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS MANAGED BY
AFNIC .............................................................................................................. 39
Preamble: Domain names are covered by various areas of law ............................... 39
I. General provisions ........................................................................................ 43
II. Glossary ...................................................................................................... 43
PART I: The SYRELI Regulations ..................................................................... 46
i. Communications and deadlines ........................................................................ 46
ii. Regulation compliance requirements ................................................................ 46
iii. Purpose of the Procedure ............................................................................... 46
iv. Language of the Procedure ............................................................................. 46
The Procedure shall be conducted in French. ................................................... 46
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures ..................................................................47
vi. Procedure Fees...............................................................................................47
Afnic shall not be obliged to act until it has received payment of the established
fees in full. ........................................................................................................47
vii. Liability .........................................................................................................47
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure ..............................................................47
ii. Completeness of the application ...................................................................... 48
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name ............................................................ 48
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure...................................... 48
v. Holder's response ........................................................................................... 49
vi. Decision ........................................................................................................ 49
vii. Notification of the decision ............................................................................ 50
viii. Implementation of the decision ...................................................................... 50
ix. Publication of the decision............................................................................... 51
x. Ethics ............................................................................................................. 51
xi. Amendments to the Regulations and dispute resolution system (SYRELI) ............ 51
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister. ............ 51
PART II: The PARL EXPERT Regulations ......................................................... 52
i. Communications and deadlines ........................................................................ 52
ii. Regulation compliance requirements ................................................................ 52
iii. Purpose of the Procedure ............................................................................... 52
iv. Language of the Procedure ............................................................................. 52
The Procedure shall be conducted in French. ................................................... 52
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures ................................................................. 53
The two PARLs are alternatives and mutually exclusive. .................................. 53
vi. Procedure fees .............................................................................................. 53
vii. Accountability............................................................................................... 53
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure ............................................................. 53
ii. Completeness of the application ...................................................................... 54
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name ............................................................ 54
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure...................................... 54
v. Holder's response ............................................................................................55
The Applicant may access the Holder's response on the electronic platform. ....55
vi. Decision .........................................................................................................55
The Expert's decision shall be reasoned and formulated in writing. ................ 56
vii. Notification of the decision ............................................................................ 56
The Rapporteur shall notify each of the Parties of the decision via electronic
media and post. ................................................................................................ 56
viii. Implementation of the decision ...................................................................... 56
ix. Publication of the decision............................................................................... 57
x. Ethics & selection of Experts ............................................................................ 57
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister. ........... 60
Preamble
1. First of all, this Charter has been adopted under the provisions of:
-
the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code;
-
the AFNIC Designation Order of 25 June 2012;
-
of the Regulations for Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures (PARL) as approved
by Order of the Minister of Electronic Communications on <date>;
-
the agreement concluded between the State and AFNIC;
-
registration contracts concluded between AFNIC and accredited registrars.
2. Domain names shall be assigned and managed in the public interest according to nondiscriminatory and transparent rules guaranteeing freedom of speech, freedom to trade
and the protection of intellectual property rights.
3. This Charter has been notified to the European Commission in accordance with
Directive 98/34.
Chapter 1 - General provisions
Article 1.1 - Purpose
4. This Naming Charter lays down the conditions for assigning and managing domain
names centralised by AFNIC in its capacity as registration office, i.e.:
.fr
Mainland France and Corsica
.re
Reunion Island
.yt
Mayotte
.pm
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
.wf
Wallis and Futuna
.tf
French Southern and Antarctic
Territories
5. In the absence of any decision to the contrary, the Charter shall apply to any new
extension centralised through AFNIC.
6. This Naming Charter shall not apply to top-level domain names other than those provided
for in this Article, and specifically:



top-level geographical domain names (ccTLD);
top-level generic domain names (gTLD);
domain names for which AFNIC will be able to act as technical (back-end registry)
service provider.
Article 1.2 - Constituent elements
7. The Afnic Naming Charter includes:

this document;

the French internet domain name dispute management policy;

the Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure regulations;

the publication and access policy for data relating to .fr registrations;

the accreditation policy of the registrar.
Article 1.3 — Third-party effectiveness
8. Any person requesting the intervention of Afnic, in its capacity as registration office, shall
be considered familiar with the terms of the Afnic Naming Charter.
9. The Naming Charter is published on the Afnic website, available at www.afnic.fr.
10. The Afnic Naming Charter is a living document, resulting from the study, work and
agreements of its members and partners.
11. The binding version of the Afnic Naming Charter shall be the version available on the
Afnic website on the date of receipt of a registration application.
12. In the event of changes to the Charter, the new version shall be effective immediately:
 for any new domain name;
 for existing domain names following:
o a request for administrative action;
o their renewal.
13. Unless otherwise decided by regulations, by decision of the Minister for Electronic
Communications or by decision of the management board, new rules shall not have a
retroactive effect.
14. New provisions shall be publicised on the Afnic website and communicated directly to the
registrars, who shall in turn be responsible for notifying the domain name holders of the
changes.
15. Operation requests made to Afnic, in any form whatsoever, as with the payment of sums
due for these interventions, can only be understood as a tacit reiteration of acceptance of
this Charter.
Chapter 2 - Rules for domain names
Article 2.1 – Domain categories
16. The Afnic decision-making bodies shall decide to create or delete domain categories
subject to the opinion of consultation committees.
17. If the domain names are still active, a category or domain may only be deleted with six
(6) months' notice to holders of domain names affected by this change, requesting they
change their domain name.
Article 2.2 - Syntax constraints
18. ASCII Domain names shall be composed exclusively of alphanumeric characters
consisting of the French alphabet, the numbers 0 to 9 and hyphen “-”. (e.g.: ecole-123.fr).
19. “International” or “internationalised” Domain names (IDN) may be composed of
characters others than the ASCII characters.
20. Domain names may use the following alphanumeric characters: a, à, á, â, ã, ä, å, æ, b, c,
ç, d, e, è, é, ê, ë, f, g, h, i, ì, í, î, ï, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, ò, ó, ô, õ, ö, œ, p, q, r, s, t, u, ù, ú, û, ü,
v, w, x, y, ý, ÿ, z, ß, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and - (minus sign).
21. ASCII and IDN domain names which cannot be registered include the following:
 starting or ending in a hyphen “-”;
 with a length longer than 63 characters;
 have a “-” (hyphen) in the third and fourth position except ASCII encoded versions
whose label is prefixed by “xn- -”.
Article 2.3 - The “first come, first served” principle
22. In the absence of provisions to the contrary concerning certain domain names and
subject to the provisions of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code,
operation requests addressed to Afnic by registrars shall be processed on a “first come,
first served” basis, i.e. in chronological order of receipt of the respective applications.
Article 2.4 - Domain names subject to pre-screening
23. Afnic shall develop and maintain a list of domain names for which registration is subject
to pre-screening.
24. This list is available on the Afnic website.
25. This is a list under development and applicants are invited to consult it, with the
understanding that the list published online does not include all of these domain names,
insofar as the mere publication of some of them might cause offence to the public.
26. For such domain names, the registrar shall submit the necessary supporting
documentation to Afnic, in advance, demonstrating that the Applicant is entitled to
register the domain name under the provisions of the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code.
27. To register a term subject to pre-screening, applicants must ensure that the domain
name:

is not liable to represent a threat to public order, good morals or rights guaranteed by
the Constitution or in law;
 is not liable to represent a threat to intellectual property or personality rights and is
not identical or very similar to the name of the French Republic, a local authority or
group of local authorities, or a national or local public service or institution, unless the
Applicant justifies a legitimate standing and acts in good faith.
28. The provisions of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code apply when
establishing the existence of “legitimate standing” and “bad faith”.
29. When the application is screened, Afnic reserves the right to request all supporting
evidence or documents that it deems necessary.
30. If the application is deemed viable after screening, Afnic shall send an authorisation code
to the registrar enabling them to register the domain name in question.
31. For any potential appeals, the Article headed “Judicial procedure” shall apply.
32. A domain name subject to pre-screening shall not be voluntarily transferred until the new
holder has obtained authorisation from Afnic under the same conditions.
33. The deletion of a domain name which is subject to pre-screening shall result in its
reinstatement in the original list.
34. Similarly, domain names under the following naming convention shall be subject to prescreening under the same conditions:
Domain name
municip-name.extension
Recommended use
Supporting
documents
Municipal
administration
SIRENE register
identification number
Rural administration
SIRENE register
identification number
General guidance
SIRENE register
identification number
Regional councils
SIRENE register
identification number
”name” is the name of the
municipal administration
cc-name.extension
“name” is the officially
declared name of the rural
administration
cg-xx.extension
“xx” is the officially
declared number or name
of the department
cr-name.extension
“name” is the officially
declared name of the
regional administration
town hall-name.extension Rural administrations
and townname.extension
SIRENE register
identification number
“name” is the officially
declared name of the rural
administration
Article 2.5 - The extension “gouv.fr”
35. The extension “gouv.fr” shall be reserved for the French Government.
36. The following supporting documentation is required to obtain an authorisation code:

An identification number from the SIRENE register or any other official document
allowing the entity to be identified and,

Validation by the Government Information Service (MIS).
Article 2.6 - Domain names reserved for the Registration office
37. The following terms shall be reserved for Afnic, for the purposes of carrying out its official
duties and may not therefore be registered:
fr
nic
www
web
office-d-enregistrement
w3
officedenregistrement
whois
office-enregistrement
officeenregistrement
officenregistrement
asso
tm
gouv
com
38. The following domain names may also not be registered: fr.fr, re.fr, pm.fr, yt.fr, tf.fr, wf.fr,
nc.fr, pf.fr, mf.fr, bl.fr, gp.fr, mq.fr, gf.fr and co.fr
39. This list may be extended in the light of legal, regulatory and technical changes in
naming.
Article 2.7 - Rights to the domain name
40. The holder shall have the use of their registered domain name for the duration of its
validity, subject to the terms of the Naming Charter. The official duties carried out by
Afnic and the registrars do not bestow either with any intellectual property rights to
domain names.
41. This Article shall not prevent a domain name holder from being deprived of their domain
name, should they be ignorant of the terms of the Naming Charter, in accordance with
constitutional and legal provisions and under the conditions set out in this Naming
Charter.
42. After registration has closed on 15 March 2013, domain names in the naming zones
.tm.fr, .asso.fr, asso.re, .com.fr and .com.re shall remain in use;
43. However, for these domain names:
-
only operation requests complying with this Charter shall be accepted
-
only qualification operations relating to the holder's existence and contactability will be
possible.
44. The same applies to domain names registered under the extensions .tf and wf.
Article 2.8 - Duration of validity of the domain name
45. The domain name shall be valid for 12 to 120 months from its registration.
46. The validity period varies according to the option chosen by the holder from the
possibilities offered by the registrar responsible for the operation.
47. Renewal of the domain name shall be tacit unless the registrar requests its deletion.
Article 2.9 - Remuneration of the Registration office
48. The costs of Afnic intervention, as invoiced to the registration offices shall be set for each
calendar year by order of the Afnic management board.
49. These costs are public and available on the Afnic website.
50. Registrars, for their part, remain free to set their own fees but are required to make the
price of their services public.
51. Invoices shall be addressed to and paid by the registrar.
52. The cost of an operation application shall be due from the moment of its finalisation by
Afnic.
53. However, the cost of registration remains payable to Afnic regardless of the outcome of
the holder's justification procedure.
54. Afnic cannot be held responsible for the failure of the registrar involved in the
administration of a domain name to pay for its intervention; any disputes and/or claims in
this regard must be settled solely between the registrar and their client.
Chapter 3 - Registration office
Article 3.1 - Role of the Registration office
55. Domain names shall be assigned by Afnic, through the registrars. During the entire
course of its duties, Afnic shall be prohibited from acting as a domain name registrar;
thus requests for domain name operations may not be made directly to the organisation.
56. Afnic shall establish non-discriminatory and transparent rules that guarantee freedom of
speech, the freedom to work and intellectual property rights.
57. Afnic shall not conduct any prior checks on applications, except for those concerning
terms subject to pre-screening under the conditions provided for in this Naming Charter.
58. Afnic shall not conduct any prior research to check whether the chosen term is available
or whether a third party may claim any rights of any kind to it.
59. Afnic shall establish an easily accessible mechanism on its portal homepage whereby
any person may notify it of any domain name of an illicit nature or contrary to public
order.
60. Such alerts shall be the sole responsibility of their authors, without prejudice to the option
for Afnic to inform the relevant public authorities.
61. An alert does not constitute a dispute resolution procedure.
62. The provisions of the Charter that allow Afnic to conduct verification or control operations
should not be understood to imply any obligation for Afnic to undertake monitoring or
vigilance, or any obligation to achieve results, but simply an option for implementation.
Article 3.2 - Powers of the Registration office
63. The French Postal and Electronic Communications Code does not give Afnic the power
to:

generally monitor the validity or legality of the terms to be registered;

check the legality and compliance of the documentary evidence submitted by the
Applicant in support of their application or any other operation, e.g. (Kbis certificate of
incorporation, receipt from INPI (French National Institute of Industrial Property) or the
prefecture, etc.).
64. Afnic may perform checks during the qualification process to ensure that the domain
name holder is eligible and/or contactable. This qualification process includes two (2)
separate processes: the valuation process and the justification process.
65. The valuation process is required in the following cases:
 Upon completion of an operation on a domain name whose new holder has never
been qualified;
 On the initiative of Afnic;
 When a third party gives an alert via the verification form available on the Afnic
website;
 On the initiative of the registrar.
66. The valuation process does not affect the portfolio of the domain name holder.
67. The justification process is required in the following cases:
 following a valuation revealing the unreliable nature of the holder's eligibility and/or
contact data;
 following an unsuccessful valuation prompted by an alert;
 following a well-reasoned complaint by a third party via the verification form available
on the Afnic website; this request shall be submitted to AFNIC, accompanied by
supporting documents.
68. When the justification procedure is initiated, Afnic shall submit a request for justification to
the registrar and inform the holder and the third party of this action. Concomitantly, Afnic
shall freeze the domain name holder's portfolio for a maximum period of 30 days.
 if no evidence is produced during this period to indicate that the holder is in
compliance with the eligibility and contactability rules, Afnic shall inform the registrar,
holder and third party to this effect and block the holder's portfolio for a maximum
period of 30 days.
 if no evidence is produced during this period to indicate that the holder is in
compliance with the eligibility and contactability rules, Afnic shall inform the registrar,
holder and third party to this effect and delete the holder's portfolio.
69. The situation can be rectified at any time by means of supporting documents, in which
case Afnic shall end the initiated procedure and inform the holder and the third party of
this action.
Article 3.3 - Accountability of the Registration office
70. Under the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, the registration of a
domain name is the responsibility of the Applicant and Afnic cannot be held responsible
for the registration and/or use of a domain name or any harmful consequences resulting
directly or indirectly therefrom.
71. The domain name registration shall be made on the basis of statements made by the
Applicant, and Afnic cannot be held responsible for erroneous, false or misleading
information, or any omission in the Whois database.
72. Moreover, Afnic, which is only bound by an obligation of best effort concerning the Whois
database, cannot be held responsible for any temporary inaccessibility of the database,
changes or deletions due to force majeure, unforeseeable circumstances, fraud or the
receipt of inaccurate information.
73. Afnic only has usage rights to the Whois database; the State remains the holder of all
rights to the database. However, Afnic reserves the right to initiate proceedings of any
nature whatsoever in order to protect the Whois database from fraudulent use.
74. Afnic is not bound by any obligation to give advice to applicants, registrars or third
parties.
75. The French Postal and Electronic Communications Code specifies that domain names
shall be assigned by the registration office via the registrars. Therefore Afnic cannot be
regarded as an intermediary or as having such a role and cannot be held responsible for
relations, whatever their nature, between the registrar and its clients (Applicant or holder).
76. These provisions do not preclude the possibility of Afnic directly contacting the holder
and/or administrative contact of a domain name in the specific cases mentioned in the
Charter (e.g. SYRELI procedure (Afnic Dispute Resolution System), orphan domain
names, etc.).
77. Afnic cannot be held responsible under any circumstances for relations, of any kind,
between a domain name holder and the administrative contact.
Chapter 4 - Registrars
Article 4.1 - Role of registrars
78. Operation requests submitted to Afnic shall necessarily be processed by a registrar, who
shall act as an intermediary between the Applicant or the Holder and Afnic.
79. Legal persons providing domain name registration services under a registration contract
concluded with Afnic shall be considered Registrars.
80. Any natural or legal person wishing to register a domain name or effect any amendment
thereto must choose a registrar from a list that Afnic shall maintain up-to-date on its
website.
81. For each application, the registrar shall provide Afnic with the documents necessary to
process the application.
Article 4.2 - Accreditation of registrars
82. Any person wishing to become a registrar for domain names for which Afnic is
responsible must obtain accreditation for each top-level domain concerned.
83. This accreditation shall be granted by Afnic according to non-discriminatory and
transparent rules published on the Afnic website.
84. Accreditation is intended to ensure that the registrar meets the essential requirements
necessary in order to fulfil their obligations as laid down in the French Postal and
Electronic Communications Code.
85. Accreditation shall be issued by Afnic on the sole basis of information provided by
registrars.
86. Accreditation should therefore not be seen as a guarantee or a quality mark for registrar
activities.
Article 4.3 - Registrars' responsibilities
87. The registrar shall be solely responsible for:



the relationship it maintains with its clients;
any claims from third parties with respect to one or more domain names;
the appropriate technical processing of the operation request made to Afnic, data
captures it carries out in accordance with the holder's preferences, particularly where
personal data are concerned, and the safe delivery of this data to Afnic;
 responding to requests from Afnic and undertaking verification operations on its
behalf;
 respecting the holder's wishes, particularly in relation to the protection of their
personal data.
88. Afnic cannot be held responsible under any circumstances for the actions of the registrar.
Chapter 5 - Rules for domain name holders
Article 5.1 - Eligibility of domain name holders
89. Applications for the registration or renewal of domain names in each of the top-level
domains may be submitted by any natural person residing, or any legal person
headquartered:

in a Member State of the European Union;

in one of the following countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.
90. It is imperative that the domain name holder and their administrative contact should be
contactable.
91. To this end, the holder and the administrative contact must both provide (and keep in
use) a telephone number and email address, as well as precise identification documents.
As long as the domain name is retained, they must promptly update the information thus
provided through the registrar.
Article 5.2 - Administrative and technical contacts
92. It is imperative that when making their registration application, domain name holders
designate an “administrative contact” and retain this contact throughout the lifespan of
the domain name.
93. The administrative contact may be the rights-holder in person or, should they wish, a third
party (natural or legal person), including their registrar.
94. Unless the administrative contact is also the holder, they shall have no rights over the
domain.
95. The same eligibility rules shall apply to both the holder and their administrative contact.
96. It is imperative that when making their registration application, domain name holders
designate a “technical contact” and retain this contact throughout the lifespan of the
domain name.
97. The technical contact may be the registrar chosen by the holder to register their domain
name.
98. Administrative and/or technical contacts may be contacted and/or informed regarding
domain name operations.
Article 5.3 - Holders' responsibilities
99. Under the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, domain names are
registered and renewed on the basis of declarations made by the Applicant, for which the
latter is responsible.
100. The same applies to the use and exploitation of a domain name, which is also the
holder's responsibility.
101. It shall be the Applicant's and the holder's responsibility to abide by the Charter and
take into account information received from Afnic or their registrar in any form (guide,
online information, contractual information, question forums, newsletter, etc.).
102. It shall be the holder's responsibility to choose a provider accredited by Afnic. Afnic
cannot be held responsible for cases of false information or misleading statements.
103. The holder shall hold Afnic harmless against any action, claim, demand or opposition
by/from any person claiming rights to a domain name or the consequences of the
registration, use or transfer of a domain name.
104. Accordingly, the holder shall be responsible for any damages or claims made against
Afnic through an out-of-court settlement, court case or other proceedings, including costs
incurred in protecting their interests, including legal expenses.
Chapter 6 - Domain name operations
Article 6.1 - Domain name locking
105. The holder may request that their registrar offer them the option of “domain name
protection” (registration lock).
106. This option prevents any operation being effected on the domain name without prior
confirmation by the registrar or domain name holder.
107. This option shall not prevent the forced freezing, blocking and transfer of a domain
name following a court decision, an extra-judiciary decision or an unsuccessful
verification procedure, as defined below.
Article 6.2 - Domain name freezing
108.
A domain name may be frozen under the following circumstances:
 a court decision orders the domain name to be frozen and meets the requirements of
the article under item “Judicial procedure”;
 an Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure is opened, managed by Afnic;
 a verification procedure is opened as per the article headed “Powers of the
Registration office”.
109.
Freezing requests may only be processed in the above circumstances.
110. The freezing of a domain name may cancel all operations being processed by Afnic
and the respective tickets and prevent any further operations on the domain name.
111.
This operation does not affect the functioning of the domain name.
Article 6.3 - Domain name blocking
112.
A domain name may be blocked under the following circumstances:

a court decision orders the domain name to be blocked and meets the requirements
of the article under item “Judicial procedure”;

a verification procedure as per the article under item “Powers of the Registration
office”;

the domain name is orphaned.
113.
Blocking requests may only be processed in the above circumstances.
114. The blocking of a domain name may cancel all operations being processed by Afnic
and the respective tickets and prevents any further operations on the domain name.
115.
This operation makes the domain name inoperative.
Article 6.4 - Voluntary transfer
116. Domain names may be transferred subject to the terms of the Naming Charter, in
particular the specificities of the identification document.
117. No voluntary domain name transfer operation shall be validated by Afnic unless both
parties have given their consent.
118. In the event of liquidation or other collective proceedings, the voluntary transfer form
shall be signed by the designated administrator.
Article 6.5 - Forced transfer
119.
Afnic shall effect forced transfers of domain names following:
 an Alternative Resolution Procedure administered by Afnic resulting in a decision to
make the transfer;
 a court decision ordering the forced transfer of the domain name and meeting the
requirements of the article “Judicial procedure”;
 an asset restructuring operation (merger, division, etc.) whereby the original holder no
longer has the ability to effect a voluntary transfer;
 a situation where the original holder is no longer able to affect a voluntary transfer
and a legal or commercial connection with the new holder may be demonstrated.
120. The forced domain name transfer procedure means that the new holder benefiting
from the decision takes all of the steps required by Afnic and agrees to the rules on
identification and verification of eligibility.
121. It shall be the new holder's responsibility to recover any technical and administrative
costs associated with the forced transfer from the previous holder.
Article 6.5 - Change of registrar
122. The holder may change their registrar subject to compliance with the contractual
obligations between them and the registrar.
123. It shall be the holder's responsibility to choose a new registrar and instruct the latter to
initiate the change.
124. The beneficiary registrar in this operation must ensure that the change does not in
any way affect the ownership of the domain name.
Article 6.6 - Orphan domain names
125. In the event that a registrar is no longer contracted to Afnic, for whatever reason and
in particular in the case of:




non-renewal of a registration contract with Afnic;
collective proceedings;
cessation of activity in the area in question;
cancellation of the registration contract with Afnic, for whatever reason;
domain names administered by the respective registrar shall be considered “orphaned
domain names” and their holders will need to choose a new registrar.
126. The registrar shall be responsible for giving its client holders advance notification to
this effect.
127. If the registrar is unable to fulfil this responsibility, Afnic shall notify the holder and,
where applicable the administrative contact, of the need to change registrar.
128. This provision should not be understood to imply any obligation on the part of Afnic,
but simply a course of action that may be taken in the case of a public emergency.
Article 6.7 - Deletion of a domain name
129.
A domain name may be deleted:

at the request of the registrar;

following a court decision ordering the domain name to be deleted and meeting the
requirements of the article “Judicial procedure”;

following a cancellation decision resulting from an Alternative Resolution Procedure
managed by Afnic;

following an unsuccessful verification procedure as per the article headed “Powers of
the registration office”;

following an “orphan domain” procedure as per the article “Orphaned domain names”.
130.
Deletion requests may only be processed in the above circumstances.
131. Deletion becomes irreversible once the grace period has elapsed for domain names
deleted at the request of the registrars.
132. During the grace period, the domain name may be reactivated in exactly the same
configuration.
133. There is no restoration time limit where deletion has come following an unsuccessful
verification procedure under the justification process mentioned in the article “Powers of
the registration office”.
134. Once deleted, the domain name shall return to the public domain and may be
registered by a new Applicant.
Chapter 7 - Dispute resolution
135. In the resolution of disputes relating to domain names, Afnic may only intervene as
the result of a decision taken following a judicial procedure or Alternative Dispute
Resolution Procedure administered by Afnic.
Article 7.1 - Judicial procedure
136. Afnic shall not intervene in any way in judicial procedures relating to domain names
under their control.
137. Afnic does not have the authority to take provisional measures; these may only be
implemented through a court decision meeting the requirements of this Article.
138. It is therefore up to the third parties concerned to take all appropriate measures to
end any threat of any kind to their rights that they consider affects them.
139. Since Afnic is obliged to apply decisions resulting from judicial procedures, it is
completely pointless to involve it or request its intervention in such procedures. By
default, Afnic reserves the right to initiate misuse proceedings as necessary and to
request reimbursement of its incurred costs.
140.
Afnic shall meet this obligation under the following conditions:
 once Afnic has been notified by the earliest petitioner, via a bailiff, of a court decision
subject to enforceable provisional execution under Article 514 of the Civil Procedure
Code and once the party of this Decision has received a reasoned explanation of the
notification;
(Or)
 once Afnic has been notified by the earliest petitioner, via a bailiff, of a court decision
subject to provisional execution under Article 515 of the Civil Procedure Code and
once the party of this Decision has received a reasoned explanation of the notification
and on the presentation of any financial guarantee ordered by the judge under
Article 517 of the Civil Procedure Code;
(Or)
 once Afnic has been notified by the earliest petitioner, via a bailiff, of a court decision
with the force of res judicata, within the meaning of Article 500 of the Code of Civil
Procedure by which it shall be justified. This justification may consist, for example,
depending on the situation, of either sending a certificate of non-use or sending an
appeal judgment.
141. Afnic cannot process requests that do not respect these conditions and is not
required to respond to letters, summonses or copies of subpoenas.
142. Should a decision adopted by Afnic be amended (withdrawal, appeal, cassation, etc.),
Afnic shall apply the new decision under the same notification conditions as those set out
above.
143. Afnic cannot be held responsible, for whatever reason, for its operations pursuant to a
court decision or a decision resulting from an Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure
administered by Afnic; the Applicant shall guarantee it against any action.
Regulation 7.2 - Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure
144. The holder of a domain name fully undertakes to comply with dispute resolution
procedures managed by Afnic, i.e. the SYRELI procedure and the PARL EXPERT
procedure.
145. The SYRELI and PARL EXPERT procedures, as approved by the Order of <date>
are available on the Afnic website.
146.
Afnic is not bound by any other Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure.
Chapter 8 - Personal data and information
Article 8.1 - Confidentiality
147. Information and documents held or disclosed to Afnic, other than those accessible
through the Whois database, shall automatically be considered confidential and shall not
be released externally.
148. This provision shall not prevent communications ordered by the courts or by request
of a mandated authority (the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and
Fraud Control [DGCCRF], National Commission of Information Technology and Liberties
[CNIL], the fiscal administration, customs, etc.).
Article 8.2 - The Whois database
149. Afnic shall be responsible for the Whois database, consisting of all collected data
necessary for the identification of the natural or legal persons holding the domain names
and for registering the domain names.
150. Afnic shall determine the technical conditions for the operation of this reference
database and access to related services; the conditions of use are set out in the
reference document called “Publication and information access policy for
the registration of .fr domain names”.
151. It may not however be held responsible for technical problems relating to the
operation of the internet itself, nor for any suspensions of service following cases of force
majeure or maintenance operations affecting the accessibility of the Whois database.
152. Afnic shall collect identification information of any kind necessary for the identification
of natural or legal persons holding domain names from registrars.
153. The State shall hold all rights over the Whois database; Afnic shall have usage rights
over the Whois database.
154.
Afnic shall publish the domain names it has registered, daily, via the Whois database.
155. Afnic cannot be held responsible for the misuse by third parties of the identification
data that it holds, particularly the data held in the Whois database.
156. Afnic reserves the right to extend the database to include information on the status of
the domain name or the qualification procedures. Thus, when a qualification procedure
leads to confirmation of the holder's eligibility and/or contactability, this fact shall be
flagged on the holder contact entry of the person concerned.
157. The registrar may also inform Whois at any time and flag their client's holder contact
entry, confirming their eligibility and/or contactability.
158. No detail added to the Whois database by Afnic affects in any way the legality and
compliance of the registration or renewal carried out.
159. Domain names on which operations have been frozen shall be flagged as such in the
Whois database.
160. Domain names on which operations have been blocked shall be flagged as such in
the Whois database.
Article 8.3 - Personal data
161. All processes relating to naming and for which AFNIC is responsible for processing
are covered by Law No 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on data processing, data files and
individual liberties, known as the “Data Protection Law”.
162. It is the registrar's responsibility to respect the provisions of the Data Protection Law,
particularly in its relations with domain name holders or applicants.
163. The holder of a domain name, once duly identified, has the right to access the
information relating to them held by Afnic or the registrar as applicable.
164. They also have the right to rectify data through their registrar, who may request
amendments of an administrative nature at any time.
165. Afnic is mandated, under Authorisation No 2007-246 issued by the National
Commission of Information Technology and Freedoms, to draw up a blacklist, the
ultimate aim of which is to combat acts of cybersquatting.
Article 8.4 - Restricted dissemination
166. The very relevance of the Whois database requires that the details of domain name
holders and administrative and technical contacts, whether natural or legal persons, be
made available online and accessible to all.
167. As requested by the National Commission of Information Technology and Liberties
(CNIL), where the domain name registration is being made on behalf of a natural person,
the holder shall by default benefit from an option known as “restricted dissemination”.
168. Where this option is implemented, no personal information (name, address,
telephone, fax and email) shall be published online in the Whois database, only
information of a technical nature (technical contact - contact details of the registrar and
DNS servers).
169. For registrations to natural persons, the “restricted dissemination” option cannot apply
to the technical contact.
170. Nevertheless, the administrative contact may be contacted via email without their
contact details being made available to the contacting party.
171. The “restricted dissemination” option shall apply only to registrations in top-level
domain name categories and under .nom.fr (now closed for registrations), effected by a
natural person as the holder.
172. Personal information for the registration of restricted dissemination domain names
shall however be released by Afnic:
 in response to an injunction or court warrant, although there is no need to subpoena
Afnic in order to obtain such information;
 on the request of an authority having communication rights (DGCCRF, customs
service, public treasury, etc.);
 under an anonymity waiver request submitted using a form called "Request for
disclosure of personal data" accessible on the Afnic website. The lifting of
anonymity is not automatic however; Afnic particularly reserves the right to refuse the
request in respect of the status of the Applicant or the nature of the objective.
Chapter 9. – Miscellaneous provisions
Article 9.1 - Agreement of proof
173. It is understood that emails sent by Afnic to Registrars and/or the holder are
admissible as evidence.
174. The same applies to technical documents exchanged between the registrar and Afnic
concerning the processing of a file.
175. Should any challenge be raised concerning the date of receipt and/or processing of
an application, the information in the Afnic servers shall prevail.
Article 9.2 - Language
176.
This Naming Charter has been drafted in French and English.
177. For any problems with interpretation of the Naming Charter only the French language
version shall prevail between the parties.
Article 9.3 - Applicable law
178.
French law shall apply, to the exclusion of any other.
Article 9.4 - Applicable legislation
179.
This Charter shall be governed by French legislation.
Article 9.5 - Force majeure
180. In cases of force majeure or unforeseeable circumstances, Afnic may have to
suspend all or part of the implementation of this Charter.
181. Specifically, the events established in French case law as constituting force majeure
or unforeseeable circumstances, as well as the following events:
-
war, riot, fire, internal or external strike action, lock-out, occupation of the Afnic
premises, bad weather, earthquake, flood, water damage, legal or governmental
restrictions, legal or regulatory changes to forms of marketing, accidents of any kind,
epidemic, pandemic, disease affecting more than 10 % of Afnic staff in a period of
two consecutive months, loss of power supply, partial or full loss of the internet and,
more generally, public or private telecommunications networks, road blockages and
the impossibility of acquiring supplies and provisions and any other case independent
of the express will of the parties, which prevents this agreement from functioning
normally.
Article 9.6 - Intellectual property
182. The fact of Afnic and the registrars carrying out their duties shall not confer upon
either any intellectual property rights over the domain names.
Chapter 10 – Transitional provisions
183. The opening of registration of domain names containing 1 and 2 alphanumeric
characters shall not apply to the following national country codes that are currently
managed by Afnic: .pm, .re, .tf, .wf, .yt
P U B L I C AT I O N AN D A C C E S S P O L I C Y F O R
D O M AI N N AM E R E G I S T R AT I O N S Y S T E M S
A N D I N F O R M AT I O N
Ta b l e
o f
c o n t e n t s
Preamble............................................................................................................ 5
Chapter 1 - General provisions ........................................................................... 6
Article 1.1 - Purpose ............................................................................................................... 6
Article 1.2 - Constituent elements .......................................................................................... 6
Article 1.3 — Third-party effectiveness ................................................................................. 7
Chapter 2 - Rules for domain names .................................................................. 7
Article 2.1 – Domain categories ............................................................................................ 7
Article 2.2 - Syntax constraints ............................................................................................. 7
Article 2.3 - The “first come, first served” principle .............................................................. 8
Article 2.4 - Domain names subject to pre-screening........................................................... 8
Article 2.5 - The extension “gouv.fr”.................................................................................... 10
Article 2.6 - Domain names reserved for the Registration office ....................................... 10
Article 2.7 - Rights to the domain name.............................................................................. 10
Article 2.8 - Duration of validity of the domain name ........................................................ 11
Article 2.9 - Remuneration of the Registration office.......................................................... 11
Chapter 3 - Registration office........................................................................... 12
Article 3.1 - Role of the Registration office........................................................................... 12
Article 3.2 - Powers of the Registration office ..................................................................... 12
Article 3.3 - Accountability of the Registration office ......................................................... 13
Chapter 4 - Registrars ....................................................................................... 14
Article 4.1 - Role of registrars .............................................................................................. 14
Article 4.2 - Accreditation of registrars ............................................................................... 14
Article 4.3 - Registrars' responsibilities ............................................................................... 15
Chapter 5 - Rules for domain name holders ...................................................... 15
Article 5.1 - Eligibility of domain name holders .................................................................. 15
Article 5.2 - Administrative and technical contacts ............................................................ 15
Article 5.3 - Holders' responsibilities ................................................................................... 16
Chapter 6 - Domain name operations ................................................................ 16
Article 6.1 Domain name locking............................................................................... 16
Article 6.2 Domain name freezing ............................................................................. 16
Article 6.3 Domain name blocking ............................................................................ 17
Article 6.4 Voluntary transfer.................................................................................... 17
Article 6.5 Forced transfer ......................................................................................... 17
Article 6.5 - Change of registrar ..........................................................................................18
Article 6.6 - Orphan domain names.....................................................................................18
Article 6.7 - Deletion of a domain name ..............................................................................18
Chapter 7 - Dispute resolution........................................................................... 19
Article 7.1 - Judicial procedure............................................................................................. 19
Regulation 7.2 - Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure .............................................. 20
Chapter 8 - Personal data and information ...................................................... 20
Article 8.1 - Confidentiality ................................................................................................. 20
Article 8.2 - The Whois database ......................................................................................... 21
Article 8.3 - Personal data.................................................................................................... 21
Article 8.4 - Restricted dissemination ................................................................................. 22
Chapter 9. – Miscellaneous provisions ............................................................. 22
Article 9.1 - Agreement of proof .......................................................................................... 22
Article 9.2 - Language ......................................................................................................... 23
Article 9.3 - Applicable law ................................................................................................. 23
Article 9.4 - Applicable legislation ...................................................................................... 23
Article 9.5 - Force majeure .................................................................................................. 23
Article 9.6 - Intellectual property........................................................................................ 23
Chapter 10 – Transitional provisions ............................................................... 23
Chapter 1 - Introduction ................................................................................... 28
Article 1.1 - Definitions......................................................................................................... 28
Article 1.2 – General principles ........................................................................................... 28
Article 1.3 - Commitments ................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 2 - The nature of the Whois data ......................................................... 28
Article 2.1 – Data held in the Whois database .................................................................... 29
Article 2.2 - Data collection and updating .......................................................................... 29
Article 2.3 - Data verification.............................................................................................. 29
Chapter 3 – Data protection ............................................................................. 29
Article 3.1 – Confidentiality policy ...................................................................................... 30
Article 3.2 - Disclosure of personal data (or confidentiality waiver) ................................ 30
Chapter 4 – Access to systems and information ........................................................ 30
Article 4.1 - Services............................................................................................................. 30
Article 4.2 - Principle of limitations on access and use ....................................................... 31
Article 1 - Preamble ............................................................................................................. 34
Article 2 – Accreditation criteria ........................................................................................ 34
Article 3 – Accreditation application .................................................................................. 35
Article 4 – Financial aspects ............................................................................................... 35
Article 5 – Effects of accreditation ...................................................................................... 35
Article 6 – Confidentiality of documents provided............................................................. 36
Article 7 – Changes to accreditation documents ................................................................ 36
Article 8 — Checks ............................................................................................................... 37
Article 9 - Suspension/Withdrawal of accreditation.......................................................... 37
DISPUTE MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS MANAGED BY
AFNIC .............................................................................................................. 39
Preamble: Domain names are covered by various areas of law ............................... 39
I. General provisions ........................................................................................ 43
II. Glossary ...................................................................................................... 43
PART I: The SYRELI Regulations ..................................................................... 46
i. Communications and deadlines ........................................................................ 46
ii. Regulation compliance requirements ................................................................ 46
iii. Purpose of the Procedure ............................................................................... 46
iv. Language of the Procedure ............................................................................. 46
The Procedure shall be conducted in French. ................................................... 46
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures ..................................................................47
vi. Procedure Fees...............................................................................................47
Afnic shall not be obliged to act until it has received payment of the established
fees in full. ........................................................................................................47
vii. Liability .........................................................................................................47
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure ..............................................................47
ii. Completeness of the application ...................................................................... 48
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name ............................................................ 48
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure...................................... 48
v. Holder's response ........................................................................................... 49
vi. Decision ........................................................................................................ 49
vii. Notification of the decision ............................................................................ 50
viii. Implementation of the decision ...................................................................... 50
ix. Publication of the decision............................................................................... 51
x. Ethics ............................................................................................................. 51
xi. Amendments to the Regulations and dispute resolution system (SYRELI) ............ 51
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister. ............ 51
PART II: The PARL EXPERT Regulations ......................................................... 52
i. Communications and deadlines ........................................................................ 52
ii. Regulation compliance requirements ................................................................ 52
iii. Purpose of the Procedure ............................................................................... 52
iv. Language of the Procedure ............................................................................. 52
The Procedure shall be conducted in French. ................................................... 52
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures ................................................................. 53
The two PARLs are alternatives and mutually exclusive. .................................. 53
vi. Procedure fees .............................................................................................. 53
vii. Accountability............................................................................................... 53
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure ............................................................. 53
ii. Completeness of the application ...................................................................... 54
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name ............................................................ 54
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure...................................... 54
v. Holder's response ............................................................................................55
The Applicant may access the Holder's response on the electronic platform. ....55
vi. Decision .........................................................................................................55
The Expert's decision shall be reasoned and formulated in writing. ................ 56
vii. Notification of the decision ............................................................................ 56
The Rapporteur shall notify each of the Parties of the decision via electronic
media and post. ................................................................................................ 56
viii. Implementation of the decision ...................................................................... 56
ix. Publication of the decision............................................................................... 57
x. Ethics & selection of Experts ............................................................................ 57
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister. ........... 60
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Article 1.1 - Definitions
In its capacity as registration office and in accordance with the provisions of the French
Postal and Electronic Communications Code, Afnic is mandated to collect any data required
for the identification of natural or legal persons holding domain names and for the creation of
a database using this data (the Whois database) from registrars.
Afnic shall have access rights to the Whois database in order to carry out its duties and for
the duration of these duties.
Protected by the provisions of the Law of 1 July 1998 on the legal protection of databases,
the Whois database is intended to provide:
 precise administrative information on the holder of a domain name and their various
associated contacts,
 technical information relating to the domain name itself.
This information makes it possible to ensure the availability of a domain name, contact the
holder of a domain name or someone connected to the domain name, or verify the holder's
registrations, etc.
Afnic makes every effort to adopt a policy of publishing Whois data, which it collects in
accordance with the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code. The conditions for
this publication, in automatable formats and on an Open Licence basis, shall be issued prior
to their implementation.
Article 1.2 – General principles
One of the main challenges of managing this database is maintaining a balance between the
protection of domain name holders' personal data and the legitimate need to have access to
information on the contacts associated with these domain names.
To achieve this, Afnic shall implement the necessary protective measures to regulate the use
of the data through equitable, non-discriminating processes, proportionate to the purposes of
the database described in the Afnic Naming Charter and in this document.
This document covers all domain names registered under the top-level internet domains
corresponding to national country codes currently managed by Afnic
Article 1.3 - Commitments
The registration office is authorised to publish certain personal information and other
technical data on its website to ensure transparency of the domain name system.
Chapter 2 - The nature of the Whois data
Article 2.1 – Data held in the Whois database
 Domain name;
 Information on the holder (name and surname of the holder when the latter has not
opted for restricted dissemination, business name, postal address, telephone and fax
numbers, email address);
 Information on the administrative contact (name and surname or business name,
postal address, telephone and fax numbers, email address or NIC handle);
 Information on the technical contact (name and surname or business name, postal
address, telephone and fax numbers, email address or NIC handle);
 Information on the Registrars;
 Information on Afnic qualification operations;
 Information on qualification operations carried out by the registrar;
 DNS (Domain Name Server) and DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security
Extension) zone signature information,
 Date of operations carried out on the domain name.
Article 2.2 - Data collection and updating
Registrars collect this data when the domain names are registered.
It is imperative that the information be updated throughout the life of the domain name,
through the registrar in charge of the domain name in order for the domain name holder
and/or their administrative contact to be reached. Afnic shall not charge for this update,
except for transfers of domain names from one holder to another.
The very relevance of the Whois database requires that all details of domain name holders
and administrative and technical contacts (whether natural or legal persons) name server
technical information and date information should be accurate.
Article 2.3 - Data verification
Afnic may undertake checks during the qualification process to ensure that the domain name
holder is eligible and/or contactable. This qualification process comprises two separate
processes: the valuation process and the justification process.
While the valuation process does not in any way affect the domain name holder's portfolio,
the justification process may result in the loss of the domain name in the event that the
domain name holder has provided inaccurate information.
Specific mention shall be made in the Whois database by the party having made the
verification (through Afnic or through the registrar) where the qualification operation is
successful.
Chapter 3 – Data protection
Article 3.1 – Confidentiality policy
The information collected by Registrars during the registration of domain names is published
in the Whois database.
However, under the Law of 6 January 1978 on data processing, data files and individual
liberties, personal information relating to holders who are natural persons (name, surname,
address, telephone, fax, email) shall be protected and not published. This process, referred
to as “restricted dissemination”, applies by default unless the holder requests otherwise.
Moreover, Afnic urges legal persons holding domain names to refrain from presenting
personal information when registering their domain name.
Article 3.2 - Disclosure of personal data (or confidentiality
waiver)
Third parties may have legitimate reasons for requesting disclosure of the identity of natural
persons holding domain names who are on the restricted dissemination list in the Whois
database.
Afnic is only authorised to pass on this information in the following cases:

in response to an injunction or court warrant;
 on the request of an authority having communication rights (DGCCRF, customs
service, public treasury, etc.);
 under an anonymity waiver request submitted using the form available on its website.
In this form, the Applicant must justify their request and undertake not to use the
information disclosed to them for purposes other than those stated in their request.
The lifting of anonymity is not automatic however; Afnic particularly reserves the right to
refuse the request in respect of the status of the Applicant or the nature of the objective.
Afnic also reserves the right to initiate legal proceedings against any person using this
information for unauthorised purposes.
Chapter 4 – Access to systems and information
Article 4.1 - Services
Afnic offers a number of services to Registrars and the general public, which enable data in
the Whois database to be manipulated and accessed
 For the general public:

Non-automatable read-only access via interrogation of the Whois Port 43
service,

Non-automatable read-only access via a Whois web direct service,

Non-automatable read-only access to the list of the most recent domain
names published,

Read-only access to an automatable service via a dchk (Domain Availability
Check) service based on the IRIS (Internet Registry Information Service)
protocol.
 For Registrars:

Automatable read/write access via an EPP service (Extensible Provisioning
Protocol),

Non-automatable read/write access service via an extranet online form
service,

Non-automatable read-only access via a Whois web direct and reverse
service,

Read-only access to a body of data on their portfolio via an FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) service.
 For clients under specific contracts
Under certain conditions, Afnic offers to provide organisations who so request with the list of
domain names registered every day under “.fr”, the names of the Registrars who made these
registrations and the names of the registered holders of these domain names (except natural
persons having opted for restricted dissemination).
The subscriber to this paying service will need not only to add value to the information
provided by Afnic but also to provide guarantees regarding the use of this information.
This request for the newly registered domain names must be submitted according to
established procedures.
The Afnic legal service shall systematically examine the file.
The subscription and eligibility conditions for this service are detailed under “Products and
services” on the Afnic website.
Article 4.2 - Principle of limitations on access and use
Afnic has chosen to implement measures limiting the number of requests in order to prevent
potential abusive use of the personal information, but also to ensure the quality of the
service.
Afnic's transparent parameter adjustment policy guarantees quality service for the one-off
user as well as for professionals.
Afnic also sets out the rules for the proper use of its systems, which must be followed. Noncompliance with these rules may result at any time in implementation of the sanctions
provided for in the Registry-Registrar contract
Users of the Afnic database undertake to use the data published therein in accordance with
the laws and regulations in force. Furthermore, they shall comply with the provisions of the
Law on information technology, files and freedoms, any infringement of which shall be
subject to criminal sanctions.
They must particularly abstain – with respect to the personal information to which they have
access – from collecting this data, misusing it, or more generally acting in any way liable to
compromise individuals' privacy or reputation.
All such access shall be subject to technical access limitations, as well as the rules of good
practice described in this document.
Under normal conditions of use, all these services are protected by a range of technical
measures, as follow:
 for automated interfaces

Limitation on the number of simultaneous connections for registration offices,

Static and dynamic IP limitation,

SSL systematised access,

Certificate authentication,

Static penalty system for commands,

Password syntax restriction rules,

High password turnover rules.
 for web interfaces

-“Captcha” system,

SSL systematised access,

-Session token management system,

-Authentication by login/password,

Static and dynamic IP limitation.
These measures apply to any new service which may be launched subsequently.
For any enquiry relating to this document, please contact AFNIC support: [email protected]
ACCREDITATION POLICY
Defining the rules for the accreditation of registrars
Contents
Article 1 - Preamble ............................................................................................................. 34
Article 2 – Accreditation criteria ........................................................................................ 34
Article 3 – Accreditation application .................................................................................. 35
Article 4 – Financial aspects ............................................................................................... 35
Article 5 – Effects of accreditation ...................................................................................... 35
Article 6 – Confidentiality of documents provided............................................................. 36
Article 7 – Changes to accreditation documents ................................................................ 36
Article 8 — Checks ............................................................................................................... 37
Article 9 - Suspension/Withdrawal of accreditation.......................................................... 37
Article 1 - Preamble
1. In the context of its official functions, Afnic has, in accordance with the decisions taken by
its governing bodies, prepared an accreditation procedure for Registrars as per the French
Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
2. Registrars must obtain Afnic accreditation as a prerequisite for carrying out the duties of a
Registrar.
3. Thus,
 The Registrar must be accredited before they may accept the terms of the registration
contract;
 The registration contract shall terminate automatically in the event that the Registrar
loses its accreditation;
 Accreditation is obtained following submission of an application to Afnic;
 The accreditation application shall include documents enabling Afnic to assess the
Registrar's compliance with the conditions set by the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code.
4. The accreditation is renewable by tacit agreement in annual increments beginning on
1 January and ending on 31 December each year.
5. Accreditation shall be granted to registrars defined as a legal person (by SIRET).
Article 2 – Accreditation criteria
1. Under the aforementioned articles, Registrars applying for Afnic accreditation must
demonstrate that they:
 have mastered the principles and operational procedures of the internet domain name
system;
 have mastered the equipment and technical rules relating to the registration of
domain names with the office;
 have implemented a procedure for verifying the identification data provided by domain
name applicants, enabling them to respond appropriately to the requests of the
Registration office;
 have sufficient human and technical resources to maintain the administrative and
technical identification data provided by domain name applicants up-to-date;
 have the equipment and software necessary to ensure the security of the personal
data provided by domain name applicants and store it in compliance with Act No. 7817 of 6 January 1978, as amended;
 offer adequate conditions for receiving the public.
Article 3 – Accreditation application
1. Upon receipt of the complete accreditation file, AFNIC shall examine the accreditation
application.
2. Afnic must ensure that the minimum requirements explicitly identified throughout the
questionnaire have been properly addressed by the Registrar.
3. It must also take note of any explanations or diagrams enclosed with the questionnaire,
assess their relevance to the questions and ensure the overall coherence of the file.
4. Information and documents submitted to Afnic shall be the sole responsibility of the
Registrar.
5. Should there be any questions or incomplete documentation, Afnic shall send a request for
the additional information to the Registrar via email to the address indicated in the
accreditation file.
6. The Registrar shall have 15 calendar days to fulfil the request.
7. If all of the aforementioned criteria have been met, AFNIC shall send an email to the
Applicant Registrar informing them that they are accredited and including certain information
on their client account: the registration contract shall apply.
8. Should all of the aforementioned criteria not have been met or the additional information
not have been submitted within the deadline of 15 calendar days, Afnic shall send a
registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the Registrar presenting the reasons for
which accreditation has not been granted to them.
9. The Registrar shall then have 15 calendar days to submit an appeal against the decision.
10. The fact that the accreditation has not been granted does not prevent the Registrar from
submitting a new accreditation application in the future.
11. The accreditation criteria are liable to change in response to new rules imposed under
laws or regulations. Where appropriate, Afnic may ask the Registrar to provide further
information which will be taken into account when the accreditation application is examined.
Article 4 – Financial aspects
1. Afnic shall process the accreditation application file free of charge.
2. The Registrar shall remain solely responsible for all costs incurred in preparing and
submitting their accreditation application file.
3. Similarly, the costs of acquiring and maintaining the accreditation shall be the sole
responsibility of the Registrar.
Article 5 – Effects of accreditation
1. Accreditation is intended to ensure that the Registrar meets the essential requirements
necessary in order to fulfil their obligations as laid down in the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code.
2. Accreditation shall be issued by Afnic on the sole basis of information provided by
registrars.
3. Accreditation should not therefore be seen as a guarantee or a quality mark for Registrar
activities.
4. The Registrar, who is entitled to present their accreditation, shall be prohibited from
claiming or implying that Afnic accreditation is an indicator of the quality of their services.
5. The Registrar shall specify in their general conditions of sale/service that accreditation
does not imply any responsibility on the part of AFNIC for the quality of its services.
Article 6 – Confidentiality of documents provided
1. All data submitted to Afnic by the Registrar in the accreditation application file is by nature
confidential.
2. But this obligation of confidentiality shall not apply:
 if Afnic is required to disclose this information in connection with judicial
procedures, for whatever reason;
 if Afnic is required to present the records of the accreditation granted as
evidence to the tax authorities;
 if a third party submits a reasoned request for access to the file of a particular
Registrar (the Registrar will be contacted before the file is released, in order to
enable them to remove items that they deem confidential).
3. Afnic shall publish the list of accredited Registrars in a directory on its website.
4. Afnic shall also publish information provided in the accreditation file, and which is identified
as subject to publication, in the directory of Registrars.
Article 7 – Changes to accreditation documents
1. Accreditation shall be issued in respect of the documents mentioned in the accreditation
file.
2. Afnic shall contact Registrars every two years, inviting them to update the information
provided in the accreditation application.
3. The Registrar shall undertake to keep all accreditation file information submitted to Afnic
up-to-date.
4. In the event of any changes or amendments, the Registrar must immediately inform Afnic
by email or post to the addresses mentioned above, or via its customer service agent.
5. Any amendment or change to the information shall lead to re-examination of the
accreditation file.
6. In the event of changes to the accreditation criteria defined under the French Postal and
Electronic Communications Code, the Registrar undertakes to comply with the new criteria
thus defined, within the time limits set under laws or regulations or, failing that, within the
time limits set by Afnic.
Article 8 — Checks
1. Afnic may make spot checks of information provided, on its own initiative or in response to
a complaint made by a third party.
2. These checks may be conducted through documentation or at the Registrar's premises.
3. The check is said to be documentary when Afnic requests one or more items and/or
documents be provided.
4. The Registrar shall communicate the requested items or documents within a maximum of
72 hours, reduced to 48 hours in cases of urgency.
5. The check may be conducted on the premises provided that the Registrar is notified 72
hours in advance.
Article 9 - Suspension/Withdrawal of accreditation
1. Under the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, Afnic may suspend or
withdraw accreditation from a Registrar in one of the following situations:
 non-compliance with the articles of the French Postal and Electronic Communications
Code;
 submission to Afnic of incorrect or outdated information in the accreditation
application;
 non-renewal or termination of registration contract;
 failure to meet the accreditation criteria defined in the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code, particularly when this fact is revealed by an Afnic check.
2. When Afnic considers that the Registrar does not meet some or all of the criteria or
obligations above, the accreditation shall be suspended for a period not exceeding four (4)
months, or withdrawn.
3. While the accreditation is suspended, the Registrar may not take any administrative action
in respect of the domain names they manage or make any new registrations with Afnic. They
must, however, continue to pay their dues to Afnic.
4. Afnic shall notify the respective Registrar of its intention to suspend their accreditation,
giving reasons. The latter shall have one (1) month in which to submit its observations.
5. When the month has expired:
 if the reply to Afnic satisfies the latter that the Registrar has made the necessary
adjustments to meet the obligations mentioned above, the suspension shall be lifted;
 in the absence of any response, or in the event of an inappropriate response, the
suspension procedure shall be implemented in accordance with the deadline set by
Afnic; the Registrar's registration account shall be suspended for the same period.
6. After expiry of the suspension period:
 if the Registrar has taken measures which satisfy Afnic that they have made the
necessary adjustments to meet the aforementioned obligations, Afnic shall end the
suspension procedure and restore the Registrar's accreditation; the registration
account shall be reactivated;
 if the Registrar has not responded to Afnic, or has not taken measures satisfying
Afnic that they have made the necessary adjustments to meet the aforementioned
obligations, the accreditation shall be withdrawn.
7. Withdrawal of the accreditation leads to the ipso facto termination of the registration
contract without advance notice, notification, or compensation.
8. Accreditation shall be automatically withdrawn, without advance notice or notification, in
the event of non-renewal or termination of the registration contract for whatever reason.
9. On the other hand, suspension of the registration contract between Afnic and the Registrar
shall not affect the accreditation granted.
10. Decisions to withdraw or suspend accreditation shall be taken by the Director General of
Afnic.
DISPUTE MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS
MANAGED BY AFNIC
Preamble: Domain names are covered by various
areas of law
Domain names are fundamentally assigned on a first come, first served basis.
However, unlike similar marks that can coexist in different classes, a domain name is by
nature unique: there can be no two identical domain names registered under the same
extension.
Moreover, more than one person is likely to claim different rights over a domain name
(intellectual property, right to a name, trade law, etc.). This situation leads to disputes.
To resolve these disputes, Afnic offers a number of options which break down into
procedures that can be used, non-contentiously or contentiously, by any natural or legal
person holding a domain name or the rights to a domain name.
At this stage, it is important to recall the roles and responsibilities of each party:
Afnic is responsible for implementing and enforcing the provisions of the Naming Charter; in
some cases, it may be required to take decisions under the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code.
The Applicant is responsible for ensuring that the term they wish to use does not threaten the
rights of third parties.
The rights-holder is responsible for protecting and defending their rights.
The registrar is responsible for ensuring that its clients comply with all legal provisions and
regulations in force, as well as with the naming charters.
Through its dispute management policy, Afnic wishes to enable each party to establish their
position in this process and to adopt the most appropriate strategy for their situation.
The Afnic website offers links to several of its decisions and those of the courts in order to
provide the fullest possible but non-exhaustive information.
1. Prevention and monitoring
First
of
all,
prevention
and
monitoring
are
the
best
weapons!
It is necessary that enterprises establish a submission strategy, adapting their registrations to
their activity and identifying contentious action by means of surveillance personnel or through
an automated tracking system (some registrars offer such services) and this:
-
in order to be promptly informed and end the problem quickly,
-
to avoid losing evidence of the holder's bad faith,
-
in order not to risk the lack of a response being used as a counter-case in the event
of a request for a special hearing.
It is possible at this stage not to engage in judicial or extra-judicial proceedings and give
priority to direct negotiations with the holder of a domain name: the contact details of the
holder are available in the Whois database, subject to the obligations relating to the
protection of personal information.
2. Non-contentious solutions available to rightsholders
2.1. Contacting the administrative contact of a restricted
dissemination domain name
In accordance with the Law of 6 January 1978, and the request of CNIL, Afnic has
established specific protection for the personal information of natural persons..
This information, protected by default, is not accessible via the public Whois service and are
listed as “restricted dissemination”. They shall only be made public only if the holder requests
so personally.
To contact restricted dissemination holders, the rights-holder may use the contact tool to
locate the administrative contact for the domain name, available at:
http://www.afnic.fr/fr/resoudre-un-litige/actions-et-procedures/joindre-le-contactadministratif-d-un-domaine/
This tool does not allow users to establish the identity of the holder and its use is the sole
responsibility of the originator of the message.
Afnic shall transfer the message without verification of its content. It has no control over the
outcome, nor does it verify the accuracy of the recipient's contact details or the identity of the
sender.
There is no guarantee of a response from the administrative contact nor any guarantee that
the latter has indeed received and read the message. They shall be free to respond and to
decide whether or not to forward the email to the holder of the domain name, if they
themselves are not the holder.
2.2. Request for disclosure of personal data
Afnic may, at the request of third parties, waive the anonymity of an individual (natural
person) domain name holder registered with restricted dissemination and under an extension
administered by Afnic.
Afnic shall communicate the holder's contact details to the originator of the request within a
few days, once a protected sign (typosquatting, dotsquatting, etc.) has been reproduced
identically or nearly identically. Afnic has no responsibility for or jurisdiction over the content
of the site.
Thus, each request must include supporting documentation to show that it is well founded.
In order to submit a reasoned request for the disclosure of personal information to Afnic, the
rights-holder must use the application form available at the following address:
http://www.afnic.fr/fr/resoudre-un-litige/actions-et-procedures/demande-dedivulgation-de-donnees-personnelles-4.html.
The refusal of Afnic to grant a request for the disclosure of personal data does not engage its
responsibility.
Afnic shall, however, communicate the information to the authorities entitled to request it.
2.3. Request for verification of compliance with the Charter
Under the Naming Charter, for domain names registered under extensions administered by
Afnic, applications for registration or renewal of domain names in each of the top-level
domains may be submitted by any natural person residing, or any legal person
headquartered:
-
in a Member State of the European Union;
-
in one of the following countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.
Whether the holder is a natural or legal person, it is possible for a rights-holder to request
that Afnic conduct data checks during the qualification process to ensure that the domain
name holder is eligible and/or contactable.
This qualification process comprises two (2) separate processes: the valuation process and
the justification process.
The justification process shall be initiated under a number of circumstances:
-
following a valuation highlighting the unreliable nature of the holder's eligibility and/or
contact data;
-
following an unsuccessful valuation prompted by an alert;
-
following the well-grounded complaint of a third party via the verification form
available on the Afnic website; this request shall be submitted to AFNIC, with
supporting documents, using the form available at the following address:
http://www.afnic.fr/fr/resoudre-un-litige/actions-et-procedures/demande-deverification-4.html
When the justification procedure is initiated, Afnic shall submit a request for justification to
the registrar and inform the holder and the third party of this action. Concomitantly, Afnic
shall freeze the domain name holder's portfolio for a maximum period of 30 days.
if, in this time, no evidence is produced to indicate that the holder is in compliance with the
eligibility and contactability rules, Afnic shall inform the registrar, holder and third party to this
effect and block the holder's portfolio for a period of 30 days.
If, in this second period, no evidence is found to indicate that the holder is in compliance with
the eligibility and contactability rules, Afnic shall inform the registrar, holder and third party to
this effect and delete the holder's portfolio.
3. Legal remedies available to rights-holders
3.1. Extra-judicial dispute resolution procedures
Under the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, the holder of a domain name
undertakes to submit to dispute resolution procedures relating to domain names under the
regulations
specific
to
each
of
these
procedures
available
here:
http://www.afnic.fr/fr/resoudre-un-litige/
These procedures are only intended for disputes between a holder and a third party
regarding the registration of domain names and under no circumstances for any disputes
concerning the responsibility of Afnic or the registrars.
Afnic, for its part, undertakes to implement the decisions taken under a dispute resolution
procedure in a timely manner.
3.2. Judicial procedures
In any case, the rights-holders shall remain free to initiate court proceedings to resolve a
dispute over a domain name.
The choice of competent court remains the most difficult issue, because it depends on a
number of factors.
Generally, the competent court shall be in the place of residence of the holder of the disputed
domain name, but may vary depending on the amount of damages claimed and the person
bringing the case.
If these procedures could result in compensation and interests, the time scales, costs and
outcomes are difficult to predict, as is the implementation of the decisions (especially in
“exequatur procedure” when the decision is made by a court outside the European Union.
It is not necessary to engage the responsibility of Afnic in order for it to apply the decisions of
the courts: the Naming Charter sets out conditions for the implementation of court decisions.
REGULATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PROCEDURES FOR TOP-LEVEL INTERNET DOMAINS
CORRESPONDING TO NATIONAL COUNTRY CODES
I. General provisions
Article L. 45-6 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE):
“Any person demonstrating a valid standing may request to the competent registration office
that a domain name be withdrawn or transferred to their benefit, when the domain name
corresponds to one of the cases provided for in Article L. 45-2 of the CPCE”.
“The office shall rule on this request within two months of its receipt, according to an
adversarial procedure established under its internal Regulations, which may provide for the
intervention of a third party chosen under transparent, non-discriminatory conditions that are
made public. The internal Regulations notably establish the ethical rules for third parties and
guarantee the impartial and adversarial nature of their intervention”.
Pursuant to this Article, Afnic launched its Dispute Resolution System procedure (SYRELI)
on 21 November 2011, the regulations for which, approved by the Minister for Electronic
Communications on 21 October 2011, were published in the Official Journal on
3 November 2011.
Meanwhile, Afnic undertook to implement a dispute resolution process incorporating thirdparty involvement in partnership with the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (the Centre), meeting the requirements of Articles L. 45-6
and L.45-2 of the CPCE by signing a Convention with the State relating to the assignment
and management of extensions managed by Afnic on 17 July 2012.
These Regulations shall govern alternative procedures for the resolution of disputes between
domain name Applicants and Holders using extensions managed by Afnic. The Regulations
apply to all domain names already registered. The holder submits to the Regulations when
accepting the terms of the Naming Charter in force.
II. Glossary
“Afnic”: The French Association for Cooperative Internet Naming, an association governed
by the provisions of the Law of 1 July 1901, which is responsible for assigning and managing
domain names for certain French extensions corresponding to French territory.
“Threat to the rights of third parties”: Any threat to third-party rights, particularly in the
cases provided for in Article L. 45-2 of the CPCE, when the domain name is:
“Liable to represent a threat to public order, good morals or rights guaranteed by the
Constitution or in law;
Liable to represent a threat to intellectual property or personality rights unless the defendant
justifies a legitimate interest and acts in good faith;
Identical or very similar to that of the French Republic, a local authority or group of local
authorities, or a national or local public service or institution, unless the Applicant justifies a
legitimate interest and acts in good faith.”
“Registrar”: A technical service provider that has signed a registration contract with Afnic
and is responsible for processing its clients' requests (domain name holders or applicants).
“Centre”: The Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO).
“Charter” or “Naming Charter”: Document defining the technical and administrative rules
covering the administration of a domain name. The Charter is supplemented by a body of
documents (procedure manual, etc.) and information available online from the Afnic website
or directly from Afnic by simple request.
“Panel”: Authority consisting of three full members and two alternates from Afnic, which is
responsible for ruling on domain name disputes under the SYRELI procedure.
“Commission”: Authority consisting of one Afnic and one Centre representative responsible
for setting up, maintaining, updating and examining the list of Experts for the PARL EXPERT
procedure.
“Convention”: The Convention between the State and Afnic concerning the management of
top-level domain names corresponding to “.fr”. It may be consulted on the Afnic website:
www.afnic.fr.
“Contact details”: All available information such as postal and email addresses, telephone
and fax numbers.
“Declaration of impartiality and independence”: The statement whereby the Expert
accepts a file in compliance with the rules of the PARL EXPERT procedure and undertakes
to act in an independent, impartial and adversarial manner.
“Expert”: A person designated to rule on a domain name dispute under the PARL EXPERT
procedure.
“Force Majeure”: By express agreement between the Parties, Force Majeure shall be taken
to mean any factor which is unavoidable and unpredictable, or whose effects are such that
the affected party's preparations are unable to prevent them. Force Majeure events include,
but are not limited to, the following events: government action, war (whether declared or not),
invasion, rebellion, embargo, sabotage, vandalism, total or partial strike, social conflict not
involving the party citing Force Majeure, civil unrest, extreme weather, natural disasters, fire,
virus epidemic and/or pandemic, cessation of transport or supply, particularly of power,
failure of the electrical power supply, heating, air conditioning, telecommunications networks,
data transport, or failure of satellites.
“Freeze of operations”: An operation consisting of preventing any changes to the domain
name. This will not affect the operation of the domain name (access to the site, email, etc.).
“Commitment letter”: A letter by which a candidate wishing to obtain or renew their
capacity of Expert under the PARL EXPERT procedure undertakes to comply with the
conditions of these Regulations.
“Domain name”: An alphanumeric term composed of a stem and an extension, which
corresponds to an IP address.
“WIPO”: The World Intellectual Property Organization.
“Parties”: The Applicant for and holder of the disputed domain name are referred to as the
“Parties” in these Regulations.
“Dispute resolution Procedure or alternative Procedure or PARL”: The Alternative
Dispute Resolution Procedure governed by these Regulations, brought by an Applicant
against the Holder of a domain name.
“Regulations”: These Regulations shall govern alternative dispute resolution procedures
between domain name Applicants and Holders using extensions registered with Afnic. This
term is used to designate the SYRELI and/or PARL EXPERT procedures, individually or
collectively.
“Rapporteur”: A person responsible for the administration of the file within Afnic.
“Applicant”: A natural or legal person initiating an Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure
relating to one or more domain names, under item L 45-6 of the French Postal and Electronic
Communications Code.
“Deletion”: An operation consisting of deleting the domain name from the DNS service and
the Whois database so that the domain name, no longer operational, returns to the public
domain and may be registered by a new holder.
“SYRELI”: An acronym for the dispute resolution system (SYstème de REsolution de
LItiges).
“Holder”: A natural or legal person having registered one or more domain names and who is
responsible for the operation of this/these domain names.
“Forced transfer”: The forced transfer procedure for a domain name means that the new
Holder benefiting from the decision taken must take all the steps required by Afnic and
comply with the rules on identification and verification of eligibility.
PART I: The SYRELI Regulations
I.
General points
i. Communications and deadlines
All exchanges between the Parties and Afnic within the procedural framework of these
Regulations shall be made only in writing to the email address and/or postal address
provided:


by the Applicant, in their application;
by the holder when registering the domain name and as held in the Afnic Whois
database on the opening day of the Procedure (Article (II) (iv)).
No meeting or encounter in person shall be possible (including via telephone, video and
internet conference).
All communications from Afnic to one of the Parties or from one of the Parties to Afnic shall
also be transmitted to the other party.
All exchanges provided for in these Regulations shall be deemed to have taken place from
the dispatch dates of the electronic messages.
Afnic and the Parties are obliged to comply with the deadlines specified in these Regulations
except in cases of force majeure.
ii. Regulation compliance requirements
These Regulations apply to Afnic and the Parties, who undertake to comply with them.
Non-compliance with these Regulations is liable to engage their responsibility.
iii. Purpose of the Procedure
These measures, which may be requested and obtained by the Applicant under the
Procedure are limited exclusively to the transfer of the domain name to the Applicant or
deletion of the domain name.
The Procedure is not intended to award damages to the Applicant.
iv. Language of the Procedure
These Regulations shall be drawn up in French and English.
The Procedure shall be conducted in French.
If the documents submitted are not drawn up in French, the Party concerned shall submit a
certified translation by a sworn translator.
The Panel reserves the right not to take into consideration documents submitted in
languages other than the language of the Procedure if the translation requested is not
provided or is incomplete or invalid.
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures
The Applicant shall certify that to their knowledge, no judicial or extra-judicial procedures are
in progress concerning the disputed domain name at the time of making their application.
Should they become aware of judicial or extra-judicial procedures being brought with regards
to the disputed domain name, they shall inform Afnic immediately.
The two PARLs are alternatives and mutually exclusive.
vi. Procedure Fees
The Applicant shall bear the costs of the Procedure.
Afnic shall not be obliged to act until it has received payment of the established fees in full.
Afnic shall nor reimburse any monies paid except for cases explicitly provided for, regardless
of the outcome of the Procedure.
Financing arrangements may be consulted on the page dedicated to the PARL on the Afnic
website (www.afnic.fr).
vii. Liability
Except in cases of wilful negligence or intentional misconduct, Afnic shall not accept any
liability towards the Parties with regard to any acts or omissions relating to these
Regulations.
II. Procedure process
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure
The Procedure allows the complete application to Afnic to be made electronically. This
application shall be accompanied by the supporting documents which the Applicant wishes to
be considered in support of its request. The size of the file (records and documents) of each
Party shall be limited according to the terms defined on the electronic platform.
The Panel shall rule on the application within two (2) calendar months of the Procedure's
initiation. The Applicant may at any time terminate the Procedure after informing the Panel.
The disputed domain name is then unfrozen.
ii. Completeness of the application
Applications for dispute resolution shall be the responsibility of a Rapporteur with the
necessary skills and experience to intervene successfully.
If the dossier is incomplete, the Rapporteur shall inform the Applicant of the missing
components, via electronic media, within 15 calendar days of submission of the application.
They shall invite the Applicant to provide the missing information within seven (7) calendar
days.
Once the Rapporteur has declared the file complete, they shall inform the Applicant via
electronic media that the Procedure has been initiated, specifying that, from this opening,
Afnic has two (2) calendar months to rule on the case.
The file shall be declared complete if:




The application form has been completed correctly.
The costs of the Procedure have been paid by the Applicant.
The domain name is registered.
The domain name to which the Procedure relates is not subject to any current judicial
or extra-judicial procedure.
The Rapporteur shall ensure that the Parties are kept up-to-date on the progress of the
Procedure.
The Rapporteur shall present the file to the Panel without conducting any additional
research, and shall draft the decision of the Panel.
If the file has not been completed within the deadlines and under the conditions set out in this
Article, the application shall be rejected.
The Applicant remains free to submit another application, with additional documentation.
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name
When the Procedure is initiated, the Rapporteur shall freeze operations on the disputed
domain name for the duration of the Procedure and, where appropriate, beyond the duration
of the Procedure, in accordance with Article (II) (viii) of these Regulations.
The freezing of operations on a domain name shall be subject to the terms of the Naming
Charter.
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure
Once the Rapporteur has informed the Applicant that their file is complete, they shall also
inform the holder, via electronic media and post, that the Procedure has been initiated,
specifying that:


from the moment of the Procedure being initiated, Afnic shall have two (2) calendar
months to rule,
they will freeze operations on the domain name,

they shall make the Applicant's documents and records available, in electronic format
only, to the holder.
The Rapporteur shall also inform the Registrar who registered the domain name via
electronic media.
v. Holder's response
The holder shall have 21 calendar days from the date of notification of the Procedure to
submit a response to Afnic via electronic media.
To be complete, this response must necessarily include the duly completed reply form for the
disputed domain name.
The holder may add documents and items to its response until the 21 calendar days have
expired.
The Applicant may access the holder's response on the electronic platform.
vi. Decision
a.
Composition of the Panel
The Panel shall be composed of three full members, appointed by the Governing Board of
Afnic from among its staff on the basis of their legal skills, knowledge of market practices
regarding domain names, and their having the necessary experience to ensure their
successful intervention in processing disputes of the types mentioned in the French Postal
and Electronic Communications Code.
The Afnic governing board may at any time revoke one or more members and effect their
replacement.
The Afnic governing board shall also appoint three alternates, under the same conditions as
the full members, who shall attend meetings of the Panel in the absence of the full members.
Decisions shall be taken by a majority of Panel members present and issued by the DirectorGeneral on behalf of Afnic.
b.
Operation of the Panel
For each file presented in meetings by the Rapporteur, the Panel is required to assess:


the Applicant's standing,
whether the disputed domain name is:
"1° Liable to represent a threat to public order, good morals, or the rights
guaranteed under the Constitution or in law;
2° Liable to represent a threat to intellectual property or personality rights unless
the defendant justifies a legitimate interest and acts in good faith;
3° Identical or very similar to that of the French Republic, a local authority or
group of local authorities, or a national or local public service or institution, unless
the Applicant justifies a legitimate interest and acts in good faith. "
The Panel shall rule on the application solely on the basis of records and documents
submitted by both Parties, without making additional research, in compliance with these
Regulations and the provisions of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
Where applicable, the Panel analysis shall take force majeure into account.
The Panel shall issue its ruling within 21 calendar days of expiry of the deadline for the
holder's response.
Depending on the remedy sought by the Applicant, the Panel may rule that the domain name
be transferred to the Applicant, that the domain name be deleted, or that the application be
rejected.
If the holder accepts the remedy sought by the Applicant, the Panel shall acknowledge their
decision upon expiry of the deadline for their response. The decision shall be effective
immediately.
The Panel's decision shall be reasoned, issued in writing, and indicate the date on which it
was issued.
In the event of a decision against the Applicant, the latter shall be free to submit a new
application, adding new elements.
vii. Notification of the decision
The Rapporteur shall notify each of the Parties of the decision via electronic media and post.
The Rapporteur shall communicate the decision to the Registrar who registered the domain
name, via electronic media.
viii. Implementation of the decision
The Panel's decision shall only be enforced after 15 calendar days have elapsed from the
date of notification of the decision to the Parties.
The implementation of the decision to delete or transfer shall be suspended if the holder
refers the dispute with the Applicant to the courts and provides Afnic with evidence of this
referral (e.g. a copy of the application bearing the registration stamp of a court registrar)
within the implementation deadline.
The implementation of the decision shall be suspended until Afnic has received documentary
evidence:


that the Procedure has become obsolete,
or
a judicial decision has been reached under the terms established under the Charter.
The domain name shall remain frozen in the absence of a court decision to the contrary
pending implementation of the decision or until the outcome of the judicial procedure initiated
in accordance with this Article.
The decision shall be implemented under the conditions provided for under the Charter,
particularly in the case of forced transfers.
Should the Applicant's application be rejected, the latter shall be free to refer the case to the
courts following expiry of the implementation deadline.
If the Panel's decision has not been forthcoming within sixty (60) calendar days, Afnic
reserves the right to delete the disputed domain name.
ix. Publication of the decision
The reasoned decision shall be published on the Afnic website (preserving the anonymity of
information relating to natural persons) once the implementation deadline provided for under
these Regulations has expired.
x. Ethics
Any party involved in the Procedure must consider and treat as strictly confidential all data
and information that it receives in order to study the file and not use this data for any
purposes other than those provided for in these Regulations.
Each member of the Panel and the Rapporteur are under an obligation of neutrality and
impartiality concerning the documents disclosed to them under the Procedure, particularly
the documents and records of the Applicant and the domain name holder.
If a member of the Panel has a conflict of interest, an alternate shall replace them.
If the Rapporteur has any conflict of interest, administration of the procedure shall be
entrusted to another Rapporteur.
The Procedure is not intended to rule on disputes concerning domain names submitted by
Afnic.
xi. Amendments to the Regulations and dispute resolution system (SYRELI)
These SYRELI Regulations were approved by decision of the Minister of Electronic
Communications.
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister.
The applicable version for any dispute settlement Procedure shall be that which applied at
the time of submission of the application to Afnic.
PART II: The PARL EXPERT Regulations
I.
General points
i. Communications and deadlines
All exchanges between the Parties, the Centre and Afnic within the procedural framework of
these Regulations shall be made exclusively in writing to the email address and/or postal
address provided:


by the Applicant, in their application;
by the holder when registering the domain name and as held in the Afnic Whois
database on the opening day of the Procedure (Article (II) (iv) below).
No meeting or encounter in person shall be possible (including via telephone, video and
internet conference).
All communications from Afnic and/or the Centre to a Party, or vice versa, shall also be
transmitted to the other Party.
All exchanges provided for in these Regulations shall be deemed to have taken place from
the dispatch dates of the electronic messages.
Afnic and the Parties shall be obliged to comply with the deadlines set out in these
Regulations except in cases of force majeure.
ii. Regulation compliance requirements
These Regulations apply to Afnic, the Centre, the Expert and the Parties, who undertake to
comply with them.
Non-compliance with these Regulations is liable to engage their responsibility.
iii. Purpose of the Procedure
These measures, which may be requested and obtained by the Applicant under the
Procedure, are limited exclusively to the transfer of the domain name to the Applicant or
deletion of the domain name.
The Procedure is not intended to award damages to the Applicant.
iv. Language of the Procedure
These Regulations shall be drawn up in French and English.
The Procedure shall be conducted in French.
If the documents submitted are not drawn up in French, the Party concerned shall submit a
certified translation by a sworn translator.
The Expert reserves the right not to take into consideration documents submitted in
languages other than the language of the Procedure if the translation requested is not
provided or is incomplete or invalid.
v. Judicial or extra-judicial procedures
The Applicant shall certify that to their knowledge, no judicial or extra-judicial procedures are
in progress concerning the disputed domain name at the time of making their application.
Should they become aware of judicial or extra-judicial procedures being brought concerning
the disputed domain name, they shall inform Afnic immediately.
The two PARLs are alternatives and mutually exclusive.
vi. Procedure fees
The Applicant shall bear the costs of the PARL EXPERT Procedure.
Afnic shall not be required to act until the Centre has received payment of the established
fees in full.
Afnic shall not reimburse any monies paid except for cases explicitly provided for, regardless
of the outcome of the Procedure.
Where no Expert is appointed, the Centre shall refund the fees paid by the Applicant for the
Expert, set according to the Centre's scale of charges and fees.
The detailed financial procedures may be consulted on the PARL homepage and in the
Centre's schedule of charges and fees, which is accessible on the relevant page of the
Centre's website.
vii. Accountability
Except in cases of wilful negligence or intentional misconduct, Afnic and the Centre shall not
accept any liability towards the Parties with regard to any acts or omissions relating to these
Regulations.
II. Procedure process
i. Initiation and duration of the Procedure
The Procedure permits the complete application to Afnic to be made electronically. This
application shall be accompanied by the supporting documents which the Applicant wishes to
be considered in support of its request. The size of the file (records and documents) of each
Party shall be limited according to the terms defined on the electronic platform.
Afnic shall rule on the application within two (2) calendar months from the start of the
Procedure The Applicant may terminate the Procedure at any time after informing Afnic. The
disputed domain name is then unfrozen.
ii. Completeness of the application
Applications for dispute resolution shall be the responsibility of the Centre and a Rapporteur
with the necessary skills and experience to ensure the successful implementation of the
project.
Should the file be incomplete, the Centre shall inform the Applicant of the missing elements
via electronic media, within five (5) calendar days of the application. The Centre shall invite
the Applicant to provide the missing elements within five (5) calendar days.
Once the Centre has found the file to be complete, it shall inform the Rapporteur to notify the
existing Parties, via electronic media, of the initiation of the Procedure, pointing out that Afnic
has two (2) calendar months from that opening in which to rule.
The file shall be declared complete if:




The application form has been completed correctly.
The costs of the Procedure have been paid by the Applicant.
The domain name is registered.
The domain name to which the Procedure relates is not subject to any current judicial
or extra-judicial procedure.
The Rapporteur shall ensure that the Parties are kept up-to-date on the progress of the
Procedure.
If the file has not been completed within the deadlines and under the conditions set out in this
Article, the application shall be rejected.
The Applicant remains free to submit another application, adding new elements.
iii. Freezing operations on a domain name
When the Procedure is initiated, the Rapporteur shall freeze operations on the disputed
domain name for the duration of the Procedure and, where appropriate, beyond the duration
of the Procedure, in accordance with Article (II) (viii) of these Regulations.
The freezing of operations on a domain name shall be subject to the terms of the Naming
Charter.
iv. Notification to the Holder of initiation of the Procedure
Once the Rapporteur has informed the Applicant that their file is complete, they shall also
inform the holder, via electronic media and post, that the Procedure has been initiated,
specifying that:



from the moment of the Procedure being initiated, Afnic shall have two (2) calendar
months to rule,
they will freeze operations on the domain name,
they will make the Applicant's documents and records available, in electronic format
only, to the holder.
The Rapporteur shall also inform the Registrar who registered the domain name via
electronic media.
v. Holder's response
The holder shall have 21 calendar days from the date of notification of the Procedure to
submit a response to Afnic via electronic media.
To be complete, this response must necessarily include the duly completed response form
for the disputed domain name.
The holder may add documents and items to its response until the 21 calendar days have
expired.
The Applicant may access the Holder's response on the electronic platform.
vi. Decision
a. Appointment of the Expert
For each file, the Centre shall appoint a single Expert from the list of Experts published on
the Afnic website and that of the Centre, taking into account their availability and the
qualifications required for the case in question.
The appointment must be made within seven (7) calendar days of the deadline for the
holder's response.
Before appointing an Expert, the Centre shall check with each potential Expert whether there
are facts and circumstances past or present or that might arise in the foreseeable future that
might call into question the Expert's independence in the eyes of one of the Parties to this
Procedure. Taking into account the schedule for the Procedure, the Centre must also check
whether the potential Expert is available to devote the time necessary to discharge their
duties responsibly and to the schedule required by these Regulations.
Once these checks have been made, the Centre shall send the appointed Expert the
Declaration of impartiality and independence, through which the Expert accepts the file under
the terms of these Regulations.
The Centre shall notify the Parties of the Expert selected to process the file.
The Centre shall send the Declaration of impartiality and independence, completed and
signed by the appointed Expert, to the Rapporteur, who shall add it to the file on the
electronic platform. The Parties shall receive notification of the deposition of this document
via electronic media, as well as the name of the appointed Expert.
b. Analysis of the file and the Expert's decision
For each file for which they are responsible, the Expert shall be required to assess:


the Applicant's standing,
whether the disputed domain name is:
"1° Liable to represent a threat to public order, good morals, or the rights
guaranteed under the Constitution or in law;
2° Liable to represent a threat to intellectual property or personality rights unless
the defendant justifies a legitimate interest and acts in good faith;
3° Identical or very similar to that of the French Republic, a local authority or
group of local authorities, or a national or local public service or institution, unless
the Applicant justifies a legitimate interest and acts in good faith. "
The Expert shall rule on the application solely on the basis of records and documents
submitted by both Parties, without undertaking additional research, in compliance with these
Regulations and the provisions of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
Where applicable, the Expert's analysis shall take force majeure into account.
The Expert shall issue their decision, in the manner that they deem appropriate under these
Regulations, within 12 calendar days of expiry of the deadline for the holder's response.
Depending on the remedy sought by the Applicant, the Expert may rule to transfer the
domain name to the Applicant, delete the domain name, or reject the application.
If the holder accepts the remedy sought by the Applicant, the Expert shall acknowledge their
decision upon expiry of the deadline for their response. The decision shall be effective
immediately.
The Expert's decision shall be reasoned and formulated in writing.
In the event of a decision against the Applicant, the latter shall be free to submit a new
application, adding new elements.
vii. Notification of the decision
Afnic shall rule on the request on the basis of the Expert's decision and shall notify the
Parties accordingly within three (3) calendar days of receipt of the Expert's decision.
The Rapporteur shall notify each of the Parties of the decision via electronic media and post.
The Rapporteur shall communicate the decision to the Registrar who registered the domain
name, via electronic media.
viii. Implementation of the decision
Afnic's decision shall only be enforced once 15 calendar days have elapsed from the date of
notification of the decision to the Parties.
Implementation of the decision shall be suspended if the Applicant or the Holder refers the
dispute between them to the courts and provides Afnic with evidence of this referral (e.g. a
copy of the application bearing the registration stamp of a court registrar) within the
implementation deadline.
The implementation of the decision shall be suspended until Afnic has received documentary
evidence:


that the Procedure has become obsolete,
or
a judicial decision has been reached under the terms established under the Charter.
Pending implementation of the decision or until the outcome of the judicial procedure initiated
in accordance with this Article, the domain name shall remain frozen in the absence of a
court decision to the contrary.
The decision shall be implemented under the conditions provided for under the Charter,
particularly in the case of forced transfers.
If the Panel's decision has not been forthcoming within 60 calendar days, Afnic reserves the
right to delete the disputed domain name.
ix. Publication of the decision
The reasoned decision shall be published on the Afnic website and that of the Centre
(preserving the anonymity of information relating to natural persons) once the implementation
deadline provided for under these Regulations has expired.
x. Ethics & selection of Experts
Any party involved in the Procedure must consider and treat as strictly confidential all data
and information that it receives in order to study the file and not use this data for any
purposes other than those provided for in these Regulations.
The Centre, the Expert and Afnic are bound by an obligation of neutrality and impartiality
concerning both the existence of the file and the information they are privy to in the course of
the Procedure, particularly the documents and records of the domain name holder and
Applicant.
If the Rapporteur has any conflict of interest, the administration of the Procedure shall be
entrusted to another Rapporteur.
The procedure is not intended to rule on disputes concerning domain names submitted by
Afnic or the Centre.
x.i. List of Experts
The Commission shall establish and publish a list of Experts selected under transparent,
non-discriminatory conditions that are made public on the Afnic website and that of the
Centre.
The Experts must comply with the ethical rules detailed in Article (II) (x.ii) below.
a) Selection criteria
The Experts must be lawyers qualified in French law, with a minimum of five (5) years'
experience and maintaining this skills base through continuous training, particularly in the
sectors intellectual property law, internet and modern information technology and
communications law, fundamental freedoms, administrative law and constitutional law. The
skills and qualifications of the Experts must be sufficient to ensure that they are eligible to
carry out their official duties under the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
The Experts must not carry out any activity incompatible with the independence required for
their official duties.
The Experts must not have been responsible for any actions that have resulted in a
disciplinary sanction in the last three (3) years.
b) Selection procedure
Any person wishing to become an Expert should send their candidate file to the Commission,
which must include a detailed CV and the necessary supporting documentation, a
commitment letter and a letter setting out the candidate's reasons for becoming an Expert (a
model CV is available on the websites of the Centre and Afnic).
Candidate files must be submitted electronically, following Afnic's and the Centre's calls for
applications, to the address given in the candidate files.
From the date of entry into force of these Regulations, calls for candidature shall be held
each year on the anniversary of that date, except in exceptional cases, where they may be
organised according to the needs of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure Expert.
The Commission shall study the documents for each candidate independently and verify that
the Applicant meets the required conditions, contacting the professional bodies mentioned in
the candidate's file where necessary.
c) Appointment as an Expert and duration of term
The Commission shall notify the candidate of its reasoned decision to accept or reject their
candidature. The Commission shall particularly take into account the competence and
experience of the Experts when justifying its decisions.
Decisions to accept or reject candidates shall be taken by the Commission unanimously. If
unanimity is not reached, the Expert's candidature shall be dropped. The Expert will be able
to submit a new file at the next call for candidature.
The title of Expert shall be granted for a duration of three (3) years from the date when the
Expert's appointment is published on the list. To renew the title, the Expert should submit a
reasoned written request to the Commission, accompanied by a commitment letter.
There is no right of inclusion in the list. The Commission may amend the list of Experts at
any time.
In the event of breach of one of the ethical rules set out in Article (II) (x.ii) below, the
Commission may order the suspension of the Expert's activity.
The Commission may withdraw Experts from the list when they are no longer available or if
they have regularly failed to meet the deadlines and requirements of these Regulations
during the course of previous dispute resolution procedures.
In particular, any Expert may be withdrawn from the list by the Commission in the event that
they are found in breach of one of the ethical rules set out in Article (II) (x.ii) below, and/or in
the event that sanctions are imposed on an Expert by a competent professional organisation.
Decisions to withdraw Experts from the list shall be taken unanimously by the Commission.
Should there be no unanimity, the Expert shall remain on the list.
x.ii. Ethical rules applicable to the Experts
Experts must be impartial and independent. In particular, Experts must have no economic or
personal interest in the outcome of the dispute and must resolve disputes on the basis of the
principles of good faith, equity and reasonable diligence.
Experts must ensure the confidentiality of the information disclosed under this procedure.
Before their appointment is accepted, the Expert must inform the Centre, for each case
undertaken, of any point of fact or law liable to imply proximity, a close link, community or
conflict of interest. If such an aspect exists, the Centre shall not appoint the Expert in
question.
For each case, the Expert must sign a declaration of impartiality and independence before
accepting a new file.
The Expert must confirm that they are independent of each of the Parties, Afnic and the
Centre. In all conscience, they shall confirm that there is no point of fact or law liable to imply
proximity, a close link, community or conflict of interest, past or present or likely to arise in
the foreseeable future, with one of the parties, in accordance with this Article.
Where, during the course of the procedure, new aspects arise that appear to raise doubts
concerning the independence of an Expert, the Expert must immediately inform the Centre of
these aspects. In such circumstances, the Centre has exclusive authority to appoint a new
Expert.
The following constitute violations of the ethical rules:
- Accepting a case when the Expert is representing or has represented one of the
Parties in a PARL Procedure since being listing as an Expert;
- Accepting a case when the Expert has previously been appointed “third-party advisor”
under a procedure of the Centre for Mediation and Arbitration Paris (CMAP) for the
same dispute;
- Acceptance of a case when professional secrecy may be violated or where there may
not be complete independence;
- Failure to disclose information relating to their representation and conflicts of interest.
xi. Amendments to the PARL EXPERT Regulations
These PARL EXPERT Regulations are approved by decision of the Minister for Electronic
Communications.
Any amendment to the Regulations shall be approved by the Minister.
The applicable version for any dispute settlement Procedure shall be that which was applied
at the time of submission of the application to Afnic.