CZ.NIC will seek review of alternative dispute resolution rules before the Supreme Court

With regard to legal certainty and transparency, the Association has decided to turn to the Supreme Court and is ready to seek an optimal procedure that will ensure a stable, reliable, trustworthy and effective solution and therefore legal certainty for all domain holders and rights owners.

The administrator of the Czech national domain .CZ takes note of the final judgment of the High Court in Prague, which stated that the part of the Domain Name Registration Rules concerning Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is not a decision made by the Board of Directors of the Association – in the opinion of the Court, it was not within the competence of the Board of Directors of the CZ.NIC Association to make such a decision. Although the Association disagrees with this interpretation, and further emphasizes that the question of whether the Registration Rules were adopted by the Board of Directors in accordance with the Articles of Association was not a matter of dispute between the parties to the dispute, it acknowledges the significance of this legal issue and believes that it deserves careful consideration. Therefore, CZ.NIC decided to turn to the Supreme Court in order to obtain a clearer interpretation and thus contribute to legal transparency.

The dispute arose from an application filed by a member of the CZ.NIC Association, AliaWeb. AliaWeb seeks a declaration of invalidity of the Board of Directors’ decision to introduce alternative dispute resolution (ADR for domains) on the grounds of non-compliance with Czech law. The Municipal Court in Prague, acting as the court of first instance in the case, upheld the validity of the disputed provision of the rules and the Board’s procedure, whereas the High Court in Prague came to a different conclusion. CZ.NIC believes that it is necessary to further analyze this issue, as the outcome will have a major impact on the functioning of the domain name environment in the Czech Republic.

With regard to legal certainty and transparency, the Association has decided to turn to the Supreme Court and is ready to seek an optimal procedure that will ensure a stable, reliable, trustworthy and effective solution and therefore legal certainty for all domain holders and rights owners.