Registry and Registrar
Licensing Regulations

The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act No. 25 of 2002 ( ECT Act) is the founding legislation of the .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA). Chapter X of the ECT Act sets out the mandate of ZADNA, which is to manage and administer the .za namespace. In doing so, the ECT Act provides for establishing the governing structure and staff of ZADNA, its functions, how the namespace is regulated, and the alternative dispute resolution process critical in dealing with domain name abuse cases.

The critical functions of ZADNA as per the ECT Act include licensing and regulating registries and registrars, publishing the .ZA domain namespace management guidelines, enhancing awareness of the namespace, conducting research on the domain name system, and advising the Minister of the Department of Digital Communication and Digital Technologies, which it directly reports to.

See link: ECT Act

The Cybercrimes Act No. 19 of 2020 (Cybercrimes Act) is promulgated to protect individuals and entities against cyber attacks carried out using domain names that ZADNA regulates. Chapter 2 of the Cybercrimes Act provides for acts that constitute cybercrimes. It amends the ECT Act by expanding significantly on what constitutes cybercrimes as provided for under Chapter 2, Part 1 of the Act.

They include the unlawful access and interception of data as well as cyber fraud.

See link: Cybercrimes Act

The Protection of Personal Information Act No.4 of 2013 (POPI Act) was promulgated to promote the protection of personal information by public and private bodies. The POPI Act provides for the protection of the rights of persons regarding unsolicited electronic communications. This includes managing personal information handled in the value chain from registrants' information acquired during domain registration, managing the information by registries and registrars, and setting our processes and procedures as outlined in Second-Level Domain Charters overall Regulatory framework out in place by ZADNA.

See link: POPI Act

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Regulations in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 as amended

The ADR Regulations sets out the rules and procedures for dealing with disputes centered around abusive or offensive domain name registrations. The Regulations further set out the mediation process as provisioned by ZADNA and the Arbitration process as provisioned by appointed ADR service providers.

The application of the rules and procedures set out in the ADR Regulations result in a determination and issuance of a decision stating whether a domain name registration is indeed abusive or offensive and conferring rights of the domain name registered to the owner of the brand or IP Right relating to the domain name.

Through the ADR Regulations, the process for the application as an ADR servicer provider is also provided.

See link: ADR Regulations