Article
1. Definitions
(1) "The
Rules" refer to the Rules for China Internet Network
Information Center Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy as approved
and implemented by CNNIC on 30 September 2002.
(2) "The
Policy" refers to China Internet Network Information Center
Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy as approved and implemented by
CNNIC on 30 September 2002.
(3) "The
Supplemental Rules" mean these Rules which are Supplemental
to the Policy and are adopted by Hong Kong International Arbitration
Centre (HKIAC) to assess Complaints regarding Domain Name Dispute
and administer proceedings in conformity with "the Rules" and where
required supplement them.
(4) "The
Centre" refers to The Hong Kong International Arbitration
Centre (HKIAC).
(5) Any terms
defined in the Rules shall have the same meaning in these
Supplemental Rules.
Article 2.
Scope
(1) The
Supplemental Rules are to be read and used in connection with the
Policy and the Rules.
(2) Any Complaint
submitted to the Centre shall abide by the Policy, the Rules and the
Supplemental Rules.
Article 3.
Communications between Parties and the
Centre
(1) Unless
otherwise agreed beforehand with the Centre, any submission that may
or is required to be made to the Centre pursuant to the Rules, the
Policy and the Supplemental Rules may be made:
(a) by telecopy or facsimile,
with a confirmation of transmission; or
(b) by postal or courier
service, with postage pre-paid and documentary verification of
service and, for the purposes of this sub-rule, double registered
post shall constitute good service; or
(c) electronically via the
Internet, provided that a record of its transmission is
available. For any electronic communications to the Centre,
the email address cndomain@hkiac.orgshall be
used.
(2) All
documentation submitted in hard copy form to the Centre by the
Parties shall be submitted in two (2) (in case of one-member Panel)
or four (4) sets (in case of three-member Panel) together with the
original copy marked "Original".
(3) The Centre
shall maintain an archive of all communications received or required
to be made under the Rules and the Supplemental Rules for a period
of one year from the date of filing the initial Complaint from the
Complainant. Subsequently, all communications and documentation
received shall be destroyed.
Article 4.
Communications Between Parties and the
Panel
(1) Where a Party
intends to send any communications which are required to be made to
the Panelist(s), it shall be addressed through the case
administrator designated by the Centre. No party may have any
unilateral communications with any member of the
Panel.
(2) Where a Party
sends any communications to the Centre, it shall at the same time
send a copy to the other Party with verification of service lodged
with the Centre.
(3) The Parties may
communicate with the Centre by phone, fax, email, or the ordinary
postal or courier service. Any communication by post shall be
deemed to be received in four (4) days after posting in the case of
local mail or in seven (7) days in respect of overseas mail.
While any instantaneous means of communications shall be deemed to
be received on the same day as transmitted.
Article 5.
The Complaint
(1) The Complaint
filed by the Complainant to the Centre shall be submitted in hard
copy and (except to the extent not available for annexes) in
electronic form, and the uniform standard format set out by the
Centre shall be adopted.
(2) The Complainant
shall be required to send its Complaint to the Centre in accordance
with "the Complainant Filing Guidelines", using Form C under the
cover of the "Complaint Transmittal Coversheet" (CTC) which are set
out and posted on the Centre's website www.hkiac.org.
(3) In accordance
with Article 4 and Article 12(xii) of the Rules, the Complainant
shall provide a copy of the Complaint to the Respondent and the
concerned Registrar(s) at the same time as it submits its Complaint
to the Centre.
(4) In accordance
with Article 14 of the Rules, the Centre shall forward the Complaint
to the Respondent(s) within three (3) calendar days following
receipt of the fixed initial fee by the
Complainant.
(5) The case
proceedings shall be deemed to have commenced on the date that the
Centre forwards the Complaint to the
Respondent(s).
Article
6. The Response
(1) Within twenty
(20) days of the date of commencement of the case proceedings, the
Respondent shall submit a Response to the Centre.
(2) The Response
submitted by the Respondent to the Centre shall be submitted in hard
copy and (except to the extent not available for annexes) in
electronic form, and the uniform standard format set out by the
Centre shall be adopted.
(3) The Respondent
shall be required to send its Response to the Centre in accordance
with "the Response Filing Guidelines", using Form R which is set out
and posted on the Centre's website www.hkiac.org.
(4) In accordance
with Article 4 and Article 18(vii) of the Rules, the Respondent
shall provide a copy of the Response to the concerned
Complainant(s).
Article 7.
The Centre's Compliance Review
(1) The Center
shall, within three (3) calendar days of acknowledging the
Complaint, examine the Complaint for compliance with the Policy, the
Rules and the Supplemental Rules.
(2) If in
compliance, the Centre shall forward the copy of the Complaint to
the Respondent, in the manner prescribed by the Rules, within three
(3) calendar days following receipt of the fees to be paid by the
Complainant in accordance with the Rules.
(3) If the Centre
finds the Complaint to be administratively deficient, it shall
promptly notify the Complainant of the nature of the deficiencies
identified. The Complainant shall remedy any deficiencies identified
by the Centre within five (5) calendar days. Failing this, the
case proceedings shall be deemed withdrawn in accordance with
Article 14 of the Rules.
Article 8.
Appointment of Panelist(s)
The Centre shall
maintain and publish a list of Panelist(s) and their qualifications.
Any Party may refer to the Centre's website at http://www.hkiac.orgfor details. For the
panelist(s) appointment of specific case, the Centre shall appoint
suitable person(s) from the list, having regard to:
(a) the nature
of the dispute;
(b) the availability of the
Panelist(s);
(c) the identity of the
Parties;
(d) the independence and impartiality of the
Panelist(s);
(e) any stipulation in the relevant
Registration Agreement.
Article 9.
Impartiality and Independence
(1) The Panelist(s)
shall be and remain at all times wholly independent and impartial,
and shall not act as advocate for any Party during the
proceedings.
(2) Prior to the
appointment, any proposed Panelist(s) shall declare in writing to
the Parties and the Centre any circumstances which are likely to
create an impression of bias or prevent a prompt resolution of the
dispute between the Parties. Except by consent of the Parties,
no person shall serve as a Panelist(s) in any dispute in which that
person has any interest, which, if a Party knew of it, might lead
him/her to think that the Panelist(s) might be
biased.
(3) After a
Panelist(s) has been appointed but before rendering a decision, a
Panelist(s) dies, is unable to act, or refuses to act, the Centre
will, upon request by either Party, appoint a replacement
Panelist(s).
Article 10.
Panel Decision
(1) A Panel shall
make its decision in electronic form and in hard copy and state the
reasons upon which the decision is based. The decision shall
be dated and signed by the Panelist(s) according to the requirements
set forth in Article 40 of the Rules.
(2) The Panel shall
forward its decision to the Centre within fourteen (14) days of its
appointment. In exceptional circumstances, the Centre may
extend the time limit as required for the Panel to forward its
Decision.
Article 11.
Publication of Panel Decision
The Centre shall
within three (3) calendar days of its receipt of a decision from the
Panelist(s) submit the decision to the Parties, the concerned
Registrar(s) and CNNIC. Unless the Panel determines otherwise, the
Centre shall publish the full decision on the Centre's
website.
Listing:
(a) the case
number;
(b) the Domain Name that is in dispute and is the
subject of a Complaint;
(c) the names of the Complainant
and the Respondent;
(d) the decision rendered by the
Panelist(s);
(e) the publishing date of the
Decision.
Article 12.
Correction of Panel Decision
(1) Within seven
(7) days of receiving the decision, a Party may by written notice to
the Centre and the other Party requests the Panel to correct in the
decision any errors in computation, any clerical or typographical
errors or any errors of a similar nature. Any such corrections
shall be given in electronic form and in hard copy to the Parties
and shall become a part of the decision.
(2) The Panel may
correct any errors on its own initiative of the type referred to in
Article 12(1) within seven (7) days of the date of the decision
being rendered.
Article 13.
Limits on Description of Written
Statements
(1) In accordance
with Article 12(ix)(3) and Article 18(i) of the Rules, the (maximum)
word limit in the part of "Facts and Legal Grounds" in the Complaint
and Response shall be 3,000 words respectively. Parties are
required to observe this as the Panel in its own discretion shall
have liberty to ignore those words exceeding the maximum stated
limit.
(2) In accordance
with Article 39 and 40 of the Rules, the Panel in its own discretion
shall have liberty to determine the length of its Decision. There
shall be no set word limit of the Panel's
Decision.
Article 14.
Appointment of Case Administrator
(1) Upon acceptance
of the Complaint, the Centre shall appoint a member of its staff who
shall be the Case Administrator and shall be responsible for the
procedural matters relating to the dispute. The Case Administrator
shall provide administrative assistance to the Panel, but shall have
no authority to decide matters of a substantive nature concerning
the domain name dispute.
(2) Communication
between the Panelist(s) and the Parties shall be coordinated through
the Case Administrator.
Article
15. Fees (RMB)
(1) The applicable
fees for documents-only administrative procedure are specified as
follows:-
|
Panel |
Domain Name Number |
Total Fees |
Administration Fee |
Fee
for Panelists |
|
Single Panelist |
1 |
|
1,500 |
1,500 |
|
2
to 5 |
|
2,000 |
3,000 |
|
6 to 10 |
7,000 |
3,500 |
3,500 |
|
10
or more |
8,000 |
4,000 |
4,000 |
|
Three Panelists |
1 |
6,000 |
3,000 |
Presiding Panelist: 1,500
Each Co-Panelist:
750 |
|
2
to 5 |
9,000 |
3,000 |
Presiding Panelist: 3,000
Each Co-Panelist:
1,500 |
|
6
to 10 |
11,000 |
4,000 |
Presiding Panelist: 3,500
Each Co-Panelist:
1,750 |
|
10
or more |
13,000 |
5,000 |
Presiding Panelist: 4,000
Each Co-Panelist:
2,000 |
(2) Within three
(3) days after submitting the Complaint to the Centre, the
Complainant shall, based on the number of the Panelists designated
and the number of the disputed domain names, pay the initial fixed
fees to the Centre in accordance with the above Fee Schedule. If the
Complainant fails to make the payment within 8 days since the
submission of the Complaint, the Complaint shall be deemed withdrawn
and the proceedings terminated thereupon.
(3) Fees to be paid
to the Centre in accordance with the Supplemental Rules may be paid
by cash, cheque, telegraphic transfer or draft made payable to "Hong
Kong International Arbitration Centre". Generally, all fees to be
paid are in Chinese currency (RMB). If US Dollar is used, the
exchange rate calculation shall be based on the current prevailing
rate of exchange.
(4) The Complainant
shall be responsible for paying the total fees provided that the
Respondent has to share the fees when the Respondent chooses to have
the Complaint decided by three (3) Panelists while the Complainant
has chosen one (1) Panelist.
(5) The said fees
do not include any payments that might have to be made to a lawyer
representing a Party.
(6) All bank
charges, transfer fees or other amounts that may be levied in
connection with a payment made to the Centre shall be the
responsibility of the Party making the payment.
Article 16.
Exclusion of Liability
(1) Without
prejudice to any existing rule of law, no Panelist shall be liable
to any Party, a concerned Registrar or CNNIC for any act or omission
in connection with the administrative proceedings conducted under
the Rules, the Policy and the Supplemental Rules, save in the case
of fraud or dishonesty or deliberate wrongdoing.
(2) Without
prejudice to any existing rule of law, the Centre, its officers and
its staff, shall not be liable to any Party, a concerned Registrar
or CNNIC for any act or omission in connection with any
administrative proceedings conducted under the Rules, the Policy and
the Supplemental Rules, save in the case of fraud or dishonesty or
deliberate wrongdoing.
Article 17.
Amendments
Subject to the
Rules and the Policy, the Centre may amend the Supplemental Rules
from time to time at its sole discretion. The amended Supplemental
Rules shall come into force after with the express approval of
CNNIC.
Article 18.
Interpretation
This Supplemental
Rules are subject to the interpretation of HKIAC.