Anyone who has a legitimate interest in establishing that the registration of a conditionally registered domain for a given domain applicant is in breach of the Domain Registration Policy, or in the event of a negative decision by the Registry on the application for a domain name, may initiate the proceedings of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum by lodging a complaint (instead of the defunct Advisory Committee).
Procedure of the Domain Decision Maker can be initiated in the following cases:
- Complaints against the conditionally registered domains.
Details below
The Domain Decision Maker procedure can be initiated here - If the Domain Applicant’s application for a domain is rejected by the Registry.
Details below
The procedure against the Registry can be initiated here.
The language of the Procedures
The language of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum is Hungarian, and submissions to the proceedings by any party can only be made in Hungarian.
If an annex is in a foreign language, a simple translation must also be attached – failure to do so may result in the evidence being disregarded.
1. What to know about the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker if you wish to lodge a complaint against a conditionally registered domain?
Where can I find the list of domain names that have been conditionally put into use?
A domain is put into conditional use by the applicant within a few hours of its application, but within a day or two at the most. At the same time, the Registry advertises the domain on its dedicated web interface, which is accessible to all. If no complaint against the delegation is received within 8 days, the Registry will delegate the domain to the applicant.
Do you disagree with the registration of a name?
If anyone finds a domain name on this interface that in some way infringes their legitimate interests (e.g. their right to use the name), they can complain against the registration of the domain. The complaint must be submitted via the Integrated Complaint Handling System of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum (ADR) within 8 days of the publication of the notice. The rules governing the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker are set out in the Domain Registration Policy, the ADRF Rules of Procedure and the Dispute Resolution Rules of Procedure, but the most important information about the procedure is set out below.
Who can complain about a pending domain registration?
A complaint may be lodged by anyone who has a legitimate interest in establishing that the registration of a domain conditionally granted to the applicant concerned is in breach of the Domain Registration Policy. The Complainee will be the Domain Applicant.
Where can I lodge a complaint against a pending domain registration?
In the case of procedure of the Domain Decision Maker, the Complainant must notify its intention to lodge a complaint through the Integrated Complaint Handling System within 8 days of the date of the publication of the domain name conditionally put into use and pay the initiation fee. Once the Complainant has indicated his/her complaint, he/she may submit his/her complaint, stating the grounds for the complaint and paying the procedural fee, within 14 days from the starting date of the publication of the domain name applied for. Detailed information on the fees is provided below.
What can the Complainee (i.e. the domain applicant) do if he/she is informed that someone has lodged a complaint with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum against his/her domain application?
The Complainee may decide, after being notified of the complaint or after lodging the complaint, whether to accept the procedure or to withdraw from the application for the domain name concerned. If he/she accepts the procedure, he/she shall pay the procedural fee no later than 8 days from the date of notification of the complaint. The Complainee shall be entitled to file a reply within 8 days of the date of service of the complaint.
How much is the fee of the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker and who pays it?
| Domain Decision Maker procedure | Fee (HUF)1 | Fee (EUR)2 |
| Start-up fee | 5.000 | 16 |
| Procedural fee3 | 150.000 | 420 |
| Discounted procedural fee3 | 60.000 | 180 |
| Procedural fee per domain starting from the 2nd domain in the same procedure4 | 75.000 | 210 |
| Discounted procedural fee per domain, starting from the 2nd domain in the same procedure4 | 30.000 | 90 |
| Administration fee for refund transfers to a non-SEPA country | 20 |
1 For Hungarian entities, the fees are subject to 27% VAT.
2 For non-Hungarian entities only.
3 A discounted procedure fee applies to those who have not lost a Domain arbitration since 1st of January 2023.
4 Eligibility for a discount may vary depending on the number of domains included in a procedure, so 2-10 domains will qualify for a 50% discount per domain, 11 domains and above will qualify for a 100% discount.
5 If the Complainant has initiated a one person Registration Arbitration procedure, but the Complainant requests a 3 person arbitration panel, this amount is to be paid by the Complainant.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum handles the paid procedural fee as deposit, reimburse the procedural fee to the winning party.
ADRF will also send an invoice to the losing party.
The Domain Decision Maker procedure can be initiated here
How is the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker carried out?
The procedure is as follows:
- Anyone who has a legitimate interest in establishing that the registration of a conditionally registered domain for a given domain applicant is in breach of the Domain Registration Policy may initiate the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum by lodging a complaint.
- The Complainant shall indicate the intention to lodge a complaint through the Integrated Complaint Handling System within 8 days of the starting date of the publication of the conditionally registered domain name and shall pay the initiation fee. Once the Complainant has indicated his/her complaint, he/she may lodge his/her complaint, stating the grounds for the complaint and paying the procedural fee, within 14 days from the starting date of the publication of the domain name applied for. If the deadlines are not met, the domain will be registered.
- A complaint may be lodged in respect of more than one domain, provided that the identity of the Complainee is the same for all domains. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum shall decide whether to merge or split the cases.
- The complaint must state the grounds and be accompanied by documents supporting the grounds (e.g. a document proving the trademark’s eligibility). The Complainant must also indicate in the complaint whether it wishes to claim the domain in addition to the revocation of the domain. After the initiation of the substantive procedure the complaint will be sent to the Complainee. The Complainee is entitled to submit a reply within 8 days of the date of service of the complaint and to pay the procedural fee. Failure by the Complainee to make a statement shall not prevent a decision from being taken.
- The procedure of the Domain Decision Maker involves three arbitrators, one rapporteur and two voting arbitrators. The decision is a unanimous or majority decision of the Domain Decision Making Committee, which is not subject to appeal to the Alternative Dispute Resolution procedure, but the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum procedure does not exclude the possibility of recourse to the courts. The decision will be taken within approximately one month.
- The decision is binding on the parties and the Registry will act accordingly, i.e. either register the domain name for the applicant (Complainee) or cancel the domain name.
- If the domain is deleted, only the Complainee shall be entitled to submit a new application for the domain concerned for a period of 60 days from the date of deletion, provided that the Complainant has indicated his/her intention to do so when lodging the complaint.
The Domain Decision Maker procedure can be initiated here
What happens if several people complain about a domain application?
If several persons lodge a complaint against the same domain name, the procedure will be terminated for the first complaint filed in due time, and the procedure will be suspended for the subsequent complaint, of which the other complainants will be informed by the Secretariat of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum. The next suspended procedure in the order wold continue if the previous procedure ended with the rejection of the complaint. If the previous complaint has been upheld, the subsequent complaint or complaints procedure will be terminated, in which case any fees paid will be refunded. Such termination shall not preclude any person from initiating proceedings before the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum in respect of a domain application or use by the Complainant of a successful complaint which has been closed by a decision on the merits (except as provided for in paragraphs 20.g., 47, 57 of the Dispute Resolution Rules). If the proceedings have been suspended in respect of another complaint, the Complainant shall be informed of the outcome. In the case of a continuation of the procedure after suspension, the Complainant shall be invited to indicate whether he/she wishes to maintain his/her complaint or, if he/she wishes to supplement or amend his/her complaint in view of the passage of time, to do so by the deadline indicated in the invitation.
What happens if I have not lodged a complaint in time and the domain has been registered?
In this case, if you believe that the registrant to whom the domain name has been delegated is not entitled to use the domain name, but you are, you can initiate a procedure of the Registration Decision Maker, which can be found here.
The Domain Decision Maker procedure can be initiated here
2. Complaint if the Registry rejects the domain applicant’s application
If the Domain Applicant applies for domain name arbitration proceedings against the Registry in accordance with the Domain Registration Policy, he/she shall submit his/her application within 14 days of the rejection of his/her domain name application by submitting his/her reasons and supporting documents.
The procedure is as described above, with some differences:
- The Complainee in this case will be the Registry.
- The domain may not be claimed by anyone else until the procedure of the Domain Decision Maker is completed.
- The decision is not whether to revoke the conditional use of the domain applied for, but whether to revoke the refusal of registration and register the domain with the Registry.