.int

The domain name int is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from the word intergovernmental,^[1] characterizing its use for international intergovernmental organisations and treaty-related purposes. The first use of this generic top-level domain was by NATO, which had previously been assigned the nato TLD.

According to current Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) policy (based in RFC 1591), the int sTLD is reserved for international treaty-based organisations, United Nations agencies, and organisations or entities having Observer status at the UN.^[2]

int is considered to have the strictest application policies of all TLDs, as it implies that the holder is a subject of international law. For this reason, the application procedure requires the applicant to provide evidence that it is indeed treaty-based by providing a United Nations treaty registration number and that it has independent legal status.

Hence, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) saw its initial application for a int domain name rejected on the grounds that the convention did not explicitly create an entity subject of international law.^[3] However, POPS appealed to the IANA Reconsideration Committee and obtained its domain (pops.int) on the grounds that other conventions lacking such specific language had nevertheless obtained a registration. The IANA granted the domain after the committee determined that (1) the organisation was chartered by a treaty that was very likely to enter into force, and (2) despite lacking a legal track record, it met "the requirement for independent international legal personality." This grant was subject to the proviso that the status of eligibility be renewed if the treaty hadn't entered into force within four years of the registration.^[4]

Additionally, int was historically also used for Internet infrastructure databases. The name space arpa had been slated to be moved into int, but in 2000 the Internet Architecture Board recommended that no new infrastructure databases should be added to int and that arpa retain its function.^[5] The only remaining technical role of int was for reverse translation of IPv6 addresses under the ip6.int zone. This zone was officially removed on 6 June 2006 in favor of ip6.arpa, also administered by IANA.

Delegations

A dedicated article offers comprehensive list of these organisations and indicates which ones are actually intergovernmental treaty-based organisations, UN agencies or UN observers, and which ones obtained their int delegation prior to the establishment of these very strict guidelines.

The eu.int subdomain was used by the European Union-affiliated institutions. However, the aforementioned institutions' domain names switched to the eu TLD on May 9, 2006 (Europe Day). All previous eu.int addresses continued to be accessible for a transitional period of at least one year.^[6] As of 2012, the European Central Bank continues to use ecb.int in addition to ecb.eu, and the .int domain is the one used for email purposes.^[7]

Grandfathered delegations

Several int domains were granted prior to the application of the strict guidelines described above. The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is an example of the loose guidelines applied in the early 1990s. IANA has not withdrawn the existing assignment from YMCA (ymca.int) and other organisations such as The Phone Company (tpc.int) who do not meet the current criteria.

See also

• generic top-level domain

References