UDRP provider Arab Center for Domain Name Dispute Resolution no longer active

Organization isn’t hearing cases and its decisions are no longer online.

A lesser-known forum for hearing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy cases is no longer active.

Arab Center for Domain Name Dispute Resolution (ACDR) is now listed as a former provider on ICANN’s website.

The organization was controversial due to its connection to Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh.

Abu-Ghazaleh is the founder of a law firm that has lost a surprisingly high number of UDRP cases as the Complainant’s counsel, including some reverse domain name hijacking decisions.

That’s not a good look for a UDRP provider.

Abu-Ghazaleh also made anti-Semitic remarks in a TV interview. This drew a rebuke from ICANN, which was controversial because the comments were not associated with ICANN activities. ICANN considered not renewing an associated registrar’s accreditation and referred the matter to the Ombuds, but I don’t think anything has come of it.

A link to ACDR’s case decisions is no longer working. ICANN requires UDRP providers to post decisions publicly, but ICANN does not publish them itself. This can result in lost case history when a UDRP provider stops hearing cases.