DNS BE, a Belgian domain name registration organization, recently commissioned CEPANI, the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation, to resolve domain name disputes.

To this end, CEPANI, aided by a working group of experts, has drawn up ad hoc rules describing the various phases of proceedings.

The proceedings are characterized by their notable speed and by the fact that they take place online, generally without the parties having to appear before the third-party decider who is responsible for settling the dispute. The decisions taken by third-party deciders are published on the CEPANI website and forwarded to DNS BE. DNS BE then implements the decisions by, for example, removing a domain name or modifying the name of the domain name holder.

The third parties which CEPANI appoints to resolve domain name disputes are selected from a regularly updated list of experts. This list can be found on the CEPANI website.

A specimen complaint form and a model complaint response form can also be found on the CEPANI website.

The rules for domain name dispute resolution took effect on 12 December 2000. They are available in Dutch, French and English.