Domains Croatia

GENERAL POLICY FOR REGISTRATION OF CROATIAN
DOMAIN .HR

General Information

Every legal and natural person has the basic right to establish their virtual identity.

Thus, every domestic natural and legal person is entitled to register a Croatian domain name. Non-domestic entities may benefit from the Local Proxy Service offered by Web Solutions free of charge. For more information, contact our Support Team at support@web-solutions.eu.

State entities and Croatian local and regional self-government units shall have the right to take precedence in registering a domain of notable importance for the national information space.

The rules governing the registration, activation, usage, deactivation or deletion of different types of Croatian domains shall be determined for the purpose of clarity and regulation of .HR domain space.

Specific domain names may be reserved for special purposes, and the requirements for their registration are determined by the Croatian Domain Authority.

Domain registrants shall exercise their rights according to the principle of good faith and fair dealing and shall not abuse them. In case a .HR domain registrant acts contrary to the provisions of these regulations, the Croatian Domain Authority reserve the right to deny the registration of the particular domain.

The Croatian Domain Authority reserve the right to delete, without providing compensation, any .HR domain registered contrary to the provisions of these regulations.

A .HR domain may be temporarily deactivated by the Croatian Domain Authority when this is legally justified, and particularly if:

• there is a serious suspicion that the registrant has registered the domain in violation of these regulations
• there is a serious suspicion that the registrant has registered the domain in violation of the rights of third parties by registering or using the domain
• the continued use of the domain could result in serious and hardly compensable damage to the Croatian Domain Authority or third parties.

A .HR domain name may be temporarily deactivated by the Croatian Domain Authority on the basis of an appropriate guarantee provided by a third party or the domain registrant. The domain shall remain temporarily deactivated until the issues under dispute are resolved or until there is otherwise no need for deactivation.

The Croatian Domain Authority reserve the right to take other measures within the law against any person who violates these regulations by acting contrary to the principle of good faith and fair dealing or by abusing their rights as specified by these regulations.

If there are more than one applicant for a certain .HR domain, the application that has been received first shall be given priority.

The rights of the Croatian domain registrant shall be respected and protected.

By registering a .HR domain, the registrants give their consent to gathering, processing, use and publication of the following personal information:

• name of the registered .HR domain;
• name of the registrant;
• postal and e-mail address of the registrant;
• date of registration of the domain and its status;
• reasons for applying for .HR registration (when applying for a specific type of domain).

Web Solutions’ Local Presence Service is available for those entities that do not have a representative office in Croatia. For more information on local presence service contact our Support Team at support@web-solutions.eu.

When registering a .HR domain, registrants agree to the gathering and processing of other personal data necessary for unique user identification and domain space maintenance (i.e. personal identification number, citizen’s or legal entity’s registry number, etc.). This information may only be used for the purposes determined by these regulations and may not be published. Third parties may only receive this information with the express written consent of the registrant.

.HR Domain name

The Croatian domain name can consist of at least 3 and not more than 63 characters including:

• letters of the English alphabet with no difference between capital and small letters
• numbers 0-9 with at least one character in the name being a letter
• the hyphen (-), where the hyphen cannot be the first or the last character in the name, and it cannot appear in two successive places.

The domain name must not be identical with the domain name that has already been registered.

The domain name shall not be used by the registrant for the purpose of usurpation of identity or false representation of a third party. It is not permitted to register domain names that are identical or deceivingly similar to a trademark or a registered domain name that the registrant is not entitled to or has no legitimate interest in.

Domain names that do not satisfy the requirements of these regulations may be denied registration or prevented from being used by the Croatian Domain Authority.

If a third party believes that the registrant has registered a given .HR domain name for the purpose of usurpation of identity or false representation of the third party, the third party may initiate arbitration proceedings.

Second-level domains

Second-level domains that are accepted for registration must be used in accordance with their purpose and include:

• domains that provide online identity to legal entities (legal entities established according to the Croatian law [resident legal entities] or natural persons residing in the Republic of Croatia [resident natural persons]);

The domain name has to contain the legal entity’s registered name or its registered abbreviated name.

• domains that provide online identity to a registered independent business;

The domain name has to be clearly linked to the identity of the independent business. The domain name has to include the name of the independent business or the full or part of the name and surname of the business’ owner or the expression of the type of independent commercial activity.

• domains that represent state bodies and local and regional self-government entities;

State bodies and local and regional self-government entities that meet the requirements of these regulations may register an unlimited number of domains. The domain names available for registration within this category include domains of particular importance for the national information space. The domain names may be applied for by the main body of state administration with expertise within the concerned field, programme, project or event, or the local and regional self-government entity that governs the territory where a certain geographic feature is situated.

The registrant of a domain of special importance for the national information space shall activate the registered domain and begin publishing information relevant to the registered domain within 30 days from the receipt of the decision on domain registration.

• additional second-level domains.

Second-level domains must be used according to the purpose for which they have been approved.

The registrant may choose to register a second-level domain for the period of one, two or five years. Then, the registration may be further renewed at the request of the registrant.

The maximum number of second-level domains which may be registered and/or used at the same time by an authorised registrant is as follows:

• 10 (ten) for legal entities except for associations (including the domain name providing online identity);
• 2 (two) for associations (including the domain providing online identity);
• 2 (two) for natural persons;
• 1 (one) for non-resident legal entities which has a registered branch office, representative office or other permanent form of presence in Croatia.
• Entities that do not have a local office in Croatia can take advantage of Web Solutions’ Local Trustee Service. For more information on our local presence services contact our Support Team at support@web-solutions.eu.

Domain names containing generic names, and domain names which may be used to violate, endanger, or limit third persons’ protected rights and interests may not be registered as additional domain names. If there is a reason to suspect such case, the application for registration will be forwarded to the appropriate Committee which will issue the final decision.

Lower-level domains

The purpose of lower-level domains is to serve the needs of all other users.

Lower-level domain names may contain in particular:

• information referring to distinct forms of organisation, projects and initiatives of the domain holder;
• information referring to activities and services of the domain holder;
• information referring to goods and products offered or circulated by the domain holder;
• information referring to copyrights, trade marks, patents and licences, brands and other forms of intellectual property to the use of which the holder is entitled;
• information referring to any supporting or related contents or links to these contents.

Lower-level domains include:

• .COM.HR

The domain .com.hr can be registered by legal entities and private individuals who have a physical mailing address in Croatia (i.e. the physical address at which they can receive mail).

There is no limitation of the number of registered .com.hr domains.

There are no specific conditions for selecting the name of the domain (with the exceptions of technical requirements).

• .FROM.HR

The domain .from.hr can be registered by:
1. all private individuals from Croatia recognizable by their personal identification number (OIB);
2. foreign private individuals who reside in Croatia and who are recognizable by their personal identification number (OIB).

The domain requires specific sequencing: name-surname-supplement.from.hr. The “supplement” part is optional.

• .IZ.HR
• .NAME.HR

Lower-level domains may be registered within second-level domain categories reserved and/or registered for such purpose (com.hr, from.hr and other similar domains) or are opened within second-level domains already registered by authorised registrants.

Croatian domain registration procedure

The right to use a Croatian domain is acquired by registering the domain.
The applications submitted for domain registration shall be handled in the order they were received.
Documents and communication necessary for the domain registration procedure will be accepted in an electronic form. Any documents necessary for domain registration may be stored in electronic form as long as evidence is provided that the document submitted is identical with the original.

Entities that can apply for Croatian second-level domain names are as follows:

• legal entities established in accordance with the Croatian law (resident legal entities)
• natural persons residing in the Republic of Croatia (resident natural persons)

Web Solutions further offers Local Proxy/Trustee Service to entities without local presence in Croatia. For more information contact our Support Team at support@web-solutions.eu or by calling +44 (0) 20 4571 1971.

The application to register lower-level domain may be submitted by any resident or non-resident legal and natural person.

It is possible for a non-resident legal entity with a branch office, registered representative office or other permanent form of presence in Croatia, to also apply for the registration of one second-level domain that fits one of the following categories:

• domains providing virtual identity to legal entities;
• domains providing identity to a registered independent business;
• domains of state bodies and local and regional self-government units;
• additional second-level domains.

The decision concerning such applications shall be issued by the Croatian Domain Authority’s Committee.

Registrant’s rights and responsibilities

The registrant of a Croatian domain shall have the exclusive right to use and organise the registered .HR domain as well as to form and monitor its content.

The registrant shall have the right to request the deactivation or removal of the domain name from the registry at any time.

The registrant’s right to use the registered domain name shall be terminated upon the registrant’s death or in case the registrant ceases to exist. Domains of registrants who passed away or ceased to exist shall be removed from the register.

The registrant shall use the domain name only for the purpose for which it has been registered and in a manner accepted within the world Internet communities. The registrant shall be responsible for any domain abuse.

The registrant may open lower-level domains under the registered domain as well as organise them and manage their content.

The registrant who allows third parties to use and manage lower-level domains under the registrant’s registered domain shall be responsible for such domains.

The registrant shall cooperate with the Croatian Domain Authority and comply with its technical requirements and recommendations.

The registrant shall keep Web Solutions informed about every change of data pertinent to the registered domain, particularly about changes in the legal status, addresses and the registrant’s authorised representatives.

If there is evidence that the registrant has failed to comply with the rules and obligations described above, the domain may be deactivated or removed from the registry by the Croatian Domain Authority.

The right of the registrant to use the domain name shall be terminated when the registrant ceases to exist, or when the registered domain is removed from the domain registry by the Croatian Domain Authority.

Transferring the registered .HR domain name to another person is not permitted.

The registrant may not allow third parties to use the domain name, except lower-level domains registered under the registrant’s domain. If it is established that the registrant is not the party who exclusively or mostly uses the domain, it shall be removed from the register.

The following the circumstances in which the domain name shall be deleted upon the request of the registrant or the registrant’s legal successor, and the new registration process simultaneously initiated for the new registrant:

• the registrant dies,
• the registrant ceases to exist,
• the is change of status
• or other legal changes regarding the domain registrant or the right to the contents of the registered domain name.

In such cases, the registrant’s legal successor or a person appointed by the registrant shall be given priority to register the domain which shall be deleted within six months from the cessation of the registrant’s existence or the change of the registrant’s status.

Dispute Resolution

Disputes over the use of .HR domain between domain registrants and third parties regarding the right to use a specific Croatian domain within the top-level domain shall be settled according to the rules established by Croatian Domain Authority.

The third party may initiate arbitration proceedings if it regards the following conditions as fulfilled:

1. the domain name is identical or profoundly similar to a certain name that the third party is entitled to (e.g. the registered name and the trademark right);
2. there is a genuine risk that the identical or very similar name may have a misleading effect on numerous persons;
3. the domain registrant does not have the legal right or legitimate interest to use the domain name under such a name;
4. the domain registrant who has registered the domain uses it contrary to the principles of good faith and fair dealing.

Other disputes between third parties and the domain registrants referring to the right to use a specific domain may also be handled according to the arbitration rules.

Being the subject of arbitration proceedings set forth by Croatian Domain Authority shall not be considered as waiving the right to other legal protection or arbitration proceedings.

If it is established during the arbitration proceedings that the right of the third party has been violated, a decision shall be issued based on which the right to use the disputed domain shall be withdrawn from the domain registrant and granted to the claimant.

No other decisions may be issued in the arbitration proceedings unless all the parties in the arbitration proceedings conclude that the arbitration agreement is valid and authorise the arbitrator(s) to issue such decisions which may include the following:

• decisions on contract or extra-contractual damages,
• decisions ordering the domain registrant to do something, to subject himself/herself to something or not to do something,
• decisions on the compensation for costs of arbitration proceedings, etc.

Amicable settlement of disputes shall be encouraged throughout the arbitration proceedings. With that in mind, the arbitrator shall be entitled to consult with parties, advocate direct negotiations between them and present proposals for a possible amicable settlement of the dispute.

If amicable settlement is reached during the proceedings, the arbitrator shall document the contents of the parties’ agreement and, when necessary, provide the parties with the instructions how to proceed to make the achieved agreement an enforceable document and dismiss the dispute case.

Arbitrator is also entitled, with the Committee’s approval, to dismiss the dispute case if, for any reason, its handling is rendered impossible or unnecessary.

During the arbitration proceedings, any changes, administrative or technical, cannot be carried out in relation to the domain which is the subject of arbitration without the arbitrator’s approval.

If there are changes in the domain status as a result of the arbitrator’s final decision, the changes shall be carried out within three days following the decision.

The parties involved in the arbitration proceedings shall bear the costs associated with the conduct of the proceedings (i.e, arbitrators’ fees, administrative costs, material and any other expenses incurred during and regarding the arbitration proceedings).