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Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (Act No. 25 of 2002)

Regulations

Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations

Chapter IV : Accreditation of Providers

38. Application

 

(1) Applications should contain—
(a) an overview of an applicant's capabilities and background in providing alternative dispute resolution services, including a description of the applicant's track record of handling the clerical aspects of expedited alternative dispute resolution proceedings, if any;
(b) a list of the names and qualifications of the adjudicators the applicant proposes to include on its published list, a description of the screening requirements applicant has used in selecting adjudicators to be included on its list and an indication whether it intends to make exclusive use of adjudicators who are residents or citizens of the Republic of South Africa;
(c) a description of training and educational measures the applicant proposes to employ for listed adjudicators with respect to domain name disputes and these Regulations;
(d) a commitment by the applicant not to prevent or discourage any of its adjudicators from serving as adjudicators for other providers;
(e) a copy of the applicant's proposed supplementary procedure, if any;
(f) documentation of applicant's proposed internal operating procedures that the Authority must hold in confidence if requested;
(g) a proposed schedule for applicant's implementation of its programme for administering disputes under these Regulations, including a statement of applicant's administrative capacity in terms of number of disputes initiated on a monthly basis;
(h) a statement of any requested limitations on the number of disputes that applicant handles, either during a start-up period or on a permanent basis:
(i) a description of how the applicant proposes to administer disputes, including its interactions with parties to the dispute, second level domain administrators, the Authority, and other approved providers; and
(j) a description of how the applicant intends to publish decisions of adjudicators in disputes it administers and a commitment to provide the Authority with copies of all decisions of adjudicators not published.

 

(2) In general, the Authority examines the applications to determine whether the applicant has demonstrated an ability to handle proceedings in an expedited, online context in an orderly and fair manner.

 

(3) An applicant must—
(a) have a track record in competently handling the clerical aspects of the procedure and administrative capabilities or must provide a detailed plan for providing those capabilities;
(b) propose a list of at least five highly qualified neutral persons from the public and private sectors that are experts in intellectual property rights, commercial, cultural, linguistic, religious and personal rights who have agreed to serve as adjudicators;
(c) show how it shall ensure that the listed adjudicators are trained concerning these Regulations, the technology of domain names, and the legal principles applicable to domain name disputes;
(d) state whether it intends to make exclusive use of adjudicators who are citizens or residents of the Republic of South Africa;
(e) indicate a familiarity with international domain name dispute resolution mechanisms and processes and foreign decisions and must indicate its plan to draw on these to provide an international benchmark for a process that is unique to the Republic of South Africa;
(f) demonstrate in its supplementary procedure that the applicant understands these Regulations; and
(g) show that both the applicant and its panel of adjudicators are representative of women, disabled and historically disadvantaged individuals where representivity will also be assessed in terms of the Codes of Good Practice for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment published by the Department of Trade and Industry, as such Codes may be amended or substituted from time to time.