Effective for Complaints filed after 17th March 2022

(Interim rules applied between 1st and 17th March but no complaints were filed during that time)

CIDD provides Domain Dispute resolution services to a number of ccTLD registries and is currently negotiating with other ccTLD registries in order to provide domain dispute resolution services to those registries. Under the CIDD domain dispute resolution system, there is a 2 stage process for any claim:

Complaints must normally be in English.

PROCEDURE IN BRIEF

1. MAKING THE COMPLAINT
   Payment of the Complaint Filing Fee
   The fee payable to start the formal stage of a domain dispute is £800 (per domain).
   An additional, per-page fees apply for large evidence filings (see details below).
   The Complaint is sent to the Registry and should specify whether the Complainant wishes to be contacted direct or through an authorised representative, and set out the email address, telephone number, fax number and postal address which should be used;
2. Filing of the Complaint
   The Complainant can make a statement of up to 3,000 words and can exhibit up to 30 pages of documentation (“exhibits”). (There are additional charges for longer exhibits (£5 per page)). These must be provided electronically to the registry and must include a signed statement of truth (see below). Filing is done by sending the complaint to the registry. A Complaint is only valid with a Statement of Truth.
   The complaint must cover items such as fair-use registration, fair use, etc.
   The Complaint must include those items included in the FAQ “What do I include in a complaint?”
3. The approved form of a Statement of Truth for this purpose is :
   “The Complainant agrees that its claims and remedies concerning the registration of the Domain Name, the dispute, or the dispute’s resolution shall be solely against the Respondent and that neither the registry nor its directors, officers, employees or servants nor any Adjudicator or adjudicator shall be liable for anything done or omitted in connection with any proceedings under the CIDD Service unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith. The information contained in this complaint is to the best of the Complainant’s knowledge true, uberimmae fides and complete and this complaint is not being presented in bad faith or for any improper purpose, such as to harass,  and the matters stated in this complaint comply with the Procedure and applicable law. The Complainant agrees to abide by the Registry’s Domain Dispute Rules and Regulations and under applicable law, as it now exists or as it may be extended by a good-faith and reasonable argument.
   By signing this document, the signing party warrants and acknowledges that he/she/they are duly authorised by the Complainant to sign this statement on behalf of the Complainant and by signing the Complaint, the undersigned and Complainant believe that the facts stated in the Complaint are true and any Exhibits are genuine and understand that proceedings for contempt or perjury or perverting the Course of Justice may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth..
   The filing party will be entitled to a CIDD appeal (de novo) but will otherwise submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Alderney or Guernsey courts with respect to any legal proceedings relating the CIDD process or otherwise seeking to appeal, reverse or otherwise challenge the effect of a Decision requiring the suspension, cancellation, transfer or other amendment to a Domain Name registration, The filing party will not submit the registry or the adjudicator to any claim for damages or legal costs whatsoever and  submits to exclusively English law;
   [Signature][date]
4. REGISTRY CHECKS
   The Registry administration will check that the complaint complies with the CIDD Policy and this Procedure and, if so, Registry will forward it to the Respondent together with Registry explanatory coversheet usually within about 7 to 21 days of Registry receipt of the complaint and checking. If Registry find that the complaint does not comply with the Policy and this Procedure, Registry will promptly notify the relevant party of the deficiencies Registry have identified and provide even (7) Days from receipt of notification within which to correct the deficiencies and return the complaint to us, but no further detail may be added and if such Complaint is not submitted duly corrected, the complaint to be withdrawn and the fee forfeit. This will not prevent the Complainant submitting a different complaint to us but a new fee will be payable.
5. THE RESPONSE
   The Registry will then provide the Complaint to the Respondent and the Respondent will be given a particular date by which the Respondent then must provide a Response. The response time-limit is normally 28 days.
6. If the Respondent is late providing the statements, it will be deemed to have chosen not to make a response statement (although the Arbitrator has discretion to overlook lateness in exceptional circumstances).
7. The Respondent can make a statement of up to 3,000 words and can exhibit up to 30 pages of documentation (“exhibits”). (There are additional charges for longer exhibits (£5 per page)). These must be provided electronically to the registry and must include a signed statement of truth as set out below. Filing is done by sending the response to the registry. A Response is only valid with a Statement of Truth.
   The Response should cover items such as fair-use registration, fair use, etc.
8. i) A Response will be deemed non-responsive if it does not address each of the allegations made by the Complainant.
   ii) Whether the Response addresses the elements of the Complaint is a matter for the Arbitrator. The adjudicator decision on all matters under this rule shall be final and the adjudicator shall not be required to give reasons for their decision].
   iii) If the Arbitrator considers that the Response is non-responsive (i.e. if it does not address each of the allegations made by the Complainant or otherwise inadequate), the Arbitrator may require the Respondent to provide an “adequate Response”. within 14 days.
   iv) If no adequate response is provided within a further 14 days, then the Arbitrator may deem the Response non-responsive and may treat the Response as not filed and decide on the basis of the Complaint. For example, a statement stating “I’ve done nothing wrong, the Complainant has no case” will be deemed non-responsive but a response similar to the Model Response, even devoid of caselaw, will be deemed valid.
   v) Any person who holds a domain name will be deemed capable of raising a Response and in the event of a non-response, the Arbitrator may, at its discretion, determine that the Respondent has consented to the transfer of the domain name, unless the contrary has been expressly stated, but providing always that the evidence of the Complainant must shows a prima-facie case that this is a reasonable step in all the circumstances
9. The response must be provided electronically to the registry and must include a signed statement of truth equivalent to the State ment of Truth in English legal proceedings. Filing is done by sending the complaint to the registry. A Response is only valid with a Statement of Truth. Any written documentary or other evidence on which the Respondent relies including correspondence and any trade mark registration and/or evidence of use of or reputation in a name or mark, together with an index of the material attached should be annexed accordingly.
10. The approved form of a Statement of Truth for this purpose is :
    “The Respondent agrees that its claims and remedies concerning the registration of the Domain Name, the dispute, or the dispute’s resolution shall be solely against the Claimant and that neither the registry nor its directors, officers, employees or servants nor any Adjudicator or adjudicator shall be liable for anything done or omitted in connection with any proceedings under the CIDD Service unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith. The information contained in this response is to the best of the Respondent’s  knowledge true, uberimmae fides and complete and this Response is not being presented in bad faith or for any improper purpose and the matters stated in this response comply with the Procedure and applicable law. The Respondent  agrees to abide by the Registry’s Domain Dispute Rules and Regulation and under applicable law, as it now exists or as it may be extended by a good-faith and reasonable argument.
    By signing this document, the signing party warrants and acknowledges that he/she/they are duly authorised by the Respondent to sign this statement on behalf of the Respondent and by signing the Response, the undersigned and Respondent believe that the facts stated in the Response are true and any Exhibits are genuine and understand that proceedings for contempt or perjury or perverting the Course of Justice may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth..
    The filing party will be entitled to a CIDD appeal (de novo) but will otherwise submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Alderney or Guernsey courts with respect to any legal proceedings relating the CIDD process or otherwise seeking to appeal, reverse or otherwise challenge the effect of a Decision requiring the suspension, cancellation, transfer or other amendment to a Domain Name registration, The filing party will not submit the registry or the adjudicator to any claim for damages or legal costs whatsoever and  submits to exclusively English law;
    [Signature][date]
    
    
11. SERVING DOCUMENTS
    The Registry will serve each party’s statement (and exhibits) on the other party.This is done electronically, normally by email.he Arbitrator will then decide the actions to recommend to the Registry.
    
    
    
12. FAILURE OF RESPONDENT TO RESPOND
    If there is no Response, then the Arbitrator will decide whether the Complainant’s Complaint on it’s face meets the requirements of the Complainant to prove, prima-facie, the necessary elements. If the Respondent provides a Response, then the Arbitrator will decide on the basis of the evidence what to recommend to the Registry. The Arbitrator will take into account caselaw cited, but may also consider other caselaw known to the Arbitrator.
    
    If the Response does not have a signed Statement of Truth, the Arbitrator may require the Respondent (or as appropriate, its representative) to sign the Statement of Truth within 14 days and may strike out the Response where this is not provided (or reasonable excuse given for any delay in signature).
    
    
    
13. ANSWERS (REPLY) TO THE RESPONSE
    The Complainant may be invited to make a Reply within 14 days (i.e. to make a Rebuttal statement to the Response) but may not add new material that it could have added during the Complaint stage and must explain the reason for any new material.
14. This is limited to 2000 words and 10 pages of exhibits.
15. This is a statement dealing with anything arising in the other party’s statements that Complainant could have not already dealt with in your original statement and could not have foreseen.
    It is not an opportunity for more evidence that you forgot, for example, to serve in your original statement. If the reply extends to other matters, the Adjudicator may declare it inadmissible to the extent that it deals with matters going beyond those newly raised in the Respondent’s response or may rule the entire response as inadmissible.
16. These rebuttal statements must be provided to the registry within the 14 day period and there is no grace period. If the Complainant is late providing the rebuttal statement ..the answer is usually tough! and you will be deemed to have chosen not to make a rebuttal statement (the arbitrator may allow late submission in exceptional circumstances, but this is very rare in respect of rebuttals).
    
    
17. Response to Reply
    To the extent that the Adjudicator intends to take note of any new material, the Adjudicator shall invite the Respondent to file a further submission in response to that material and only that material (either by formal response such further submission shall not exceed 2000 words (not including annexes limited to 10 pages) or by Point of Clarification (limited usually to 4 pages unless otherwise stated).
    
    
18. ARBITRATORS DECISION
    The Arbitrator will review the material with a view to making a decision as quickly as possible but they may contact either party for more information or to clarify anything written.
    This is at the arbitrator’s discretion and all such communications will be notified to both parties (together with any answers given).
    The arbitrator has the right to ask any party for further information for the purposes of clarity (and not to fill evidential failings) which must be provided within (usually) 7 days.
    Note: The arbitrator has no power to require further information but only to ask for it. This power can only be used in relation to each party once (although it is quite rare that the arbitrator does consider it necessary ask for such further information).
19. The appointed Adjudicator shall only grant an application for a summary decision if the conditions set out in the Policy are satisfied and the Complainant is deemed to have clearly proven each aspect of their case and evidenced why any applicable defence should not apply. The Complainant has the burden of proving each element that it claims. Where the Respondent asserts nominative fair use, then the burden will transfer to the Complainant to show otherwise. Complainants are advised to assess the likelihood of a Respondent raising nominative fair use and to deal with that issue as part of their complaint. In limited cases, the response can address nominative fair use.
20. The decision of the Arbitrator will result in a recommendation to the Registry. The Registry will be free to follow that recommendation (and will, except in the most exceptional circumstances) but the Registry is not bound to do so. If the Registry decides not to follow the recommendation, it is not required to give a reason for doing so
21. It will not normally be open to a Complainant to refile a case that has been determined by the Arbitrator/Panellist’s decision (and the proper route is vis CIDD Appeal or Court Action) but an Arbitrator/Panellist may make a decision “without prejudice to refiling” where a case is not proven when the Complainant to refile a de-novo case with additional or different evidence.
    
    
22. APPEALS
    (i) Either Party may appeal the Arbitrator decision via CIDD APPEAL process within 30 days.
    (ii) Either Party may commence an action before the Alderney or Jersey Court (for .je domains) or may commence an action before the Alderney or Guernsey Court (for .gg domains) at any time, save during a complaint being heard before CIDD. In this respect, the Complainant may, at any time before an arbitrational decision, withdraw their complaint by notifying the Registry and may then issue proceedings before the relevant Court. (“Commencing an Action” includes any action for injunctive relief before the relevant Court).
23. The Registry will not usually action any recommendation within 30 days, to allow time to refer to the CIDD Appeal or the relevant Court.
24. Where proceedings are issued before the relevant Court, within 30 days, the arbitrator’s decision will be suspended. The proceedings must be referred to the Court by way of an action between the Plaintiff/Complainant and the Respondent and the Court has no jurisdiction to review the Arbitrator/Panellist’s decision in the manner of judicial review or appellate body and the reference to Court is for an “independent resolution”. The Court may however comment on the Arbitrator/Panellist’s decision (indeed it is the case that CIDD, its Panellists and the Registry welcome any such comments).
25. By registering a domain the Registrant accepts that the Registry has the right in any Court Action to be an interested party and intervenor and will usually provide both the original arbitrator’s decision (if such has been made) and to provide an amicus brief.
    By registering a domain the Registrant accepts that the Registry has the right in any Court Action to be an interested party and intervenor and will usually provide both the original arbitrator’s decision (if such has been made) and to provide an amicus brief. By participating in CIDD or seeking a disclosure of the Registry WHO-IS data, the Plaintiff/Complainant accepts that that the Registry may so act.
    (i) if a CIDD complaint is dismissed, the Complainant may refer the case to the Court for an order that its trade mark has been infringed.
    (ii) If, on the other hand, the Complaint is upheld, the burden is not on the complainant to establish infringement. It is for the registrant to plead and seek a declaration that they have a legitimate interest in the domain name or have nominative fair use and/or are not infringing.
    [It should be noted that in this respect, CIDD differs from Nominet and that the cases of Patel and Toth are not directly applicable as the rules differ under CIDD to Nominet.].
    
    IMMUNITY
26. It is also the case that Arbitrator/Panellist’s are immune from suit. (See Rules Page)

ALL CONTACT IN RELATION TO THE DOMAIN DISPUTES ARE VIA THE CHANNEL ISLAND DOMAIN REGISTRY. Note: Contested Dispute Full Hearing (Details on Request) (Currently not activated)

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE ARBITRATORS DIRECTLY