The ICANN Board approved the Arab Center for Dispute Resolution (ACDR) as an UDRP provider.
The approval of ACDR as the first UDRP provider located in the Middle East “enhances ICANN‘s accountability to the Internet community as a whole, enhancing choice for UDRP complainants”.
ICANN acknowledged that comments were submitted suggesting that “ICANN develop contracts with each of its UDRP providers as a means to require uniformity among providers. ”
However the Board stated that “Contracts have never been required of UDRP providers. ”
“On the issue of uniformity among providers, however, the ACDR’s proposal does two things: first, highlighted areas where risk of non-uniform conduct was perceived (such as issues with commencement dates and definitions of writings) have been modified; second, the proposal now includes an affirmative recognition that if ICANN imposes further requirements on providers, the ACDR will follow those requirements; third, the ACDR has revised a specific portion of its Supplemental Rules that was highlighted by commenters as a potential risk to uniformity. This is a positive advancement and helps address concerns of ICANN‘s ability to, in the future, identify areas where uniformity of action is of its obligation to abide by ICANN modifications that could enhance uniformity among providers.”
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