784.104.2OIDFederal Council OrdinanceJan 1, 2015Original source
A registrar may offer registration services only if it:
can provide evidence that it has concluded a registration contract with ICANN when the rules which apply at international level so require for the domain concerned; and if it
has concluded with the Registry a contract relating to the registration of domain names (registrar contract).
The Registry must conclude a registrar contract when the applicant meets the following conditions:
it undertakes to comply with Swiss law, in particular this Ordinance and its implementing provisions as well as its registrar contract;
it has a valid correspondence address in Switzerland;
it masters the hardware and software as well as the technical rules making it possible to carry out registrations and other administrative operations with the Registry;
it has put in place a procedure for verifying the identification data provided by applicants for domain names;
it has the human and technical resources necessary to ensure the maintenance and updating of the administrative and technical data provided by applicants for or holders of domain names;
1 it has the information technology hardware and software necessary to ensure the security of the personal data provided by applicants for domain names and archives the latter in conformity with the provisions of the Data Protection Act of 19 June 19922;
it has provided the required guarantees in the event of doubtful solvency or of non-payment; the amount of these guarantees, attracting a rate of interest that applies to savings accounts, shall not exceed the anticipated risk to the Registry.
The application to conclude a registrar contract is addressed to the Registry. It includes all the documents, data and information that make it possible to assess compliance by the applicant with the prescribed conditions.
4. Any change in the facts on which the registrar contract is based must be communicated to the Registry.
The registrar contract may not derogate from the rules prescribed by this Ordinance and its implementing provisions. In addition, the Registry shall comply with the principles of non-discrimination and transparency in its contractual relations with registrars.
The registrar contract is governed by public law when the Registry function is exercised by OFCOM (contract under administrative law) and by private law when the Registry function is delegated (contract under private law).
The Registry terminates the registrar contract without compensation when a registrar so requests, no longer meets the conditions imposed on the exercise of its function, ceases all activity or is subject to bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings. It must inform the holders of the domain names managed by the registrar concerned of the cancellation of a registrar contract in the appropriate manner.
Article 40 paragraphs 1, 3 and 4, and Article 41 apply by analogy to the surveillance of registrars exercised by OFCOM.
Footnotes
Amended by Annex 2 No II 89 of the Data Protection Ordinance of 31 Aug. 2022, in force since 1 Sept. 2023 (AS 2022 568). ↩