The Freename Forum

GCCIX WLL, based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, may have to bury its hopes of winning the .gcc top level domain for a curious reason: in the course of an “Independent Review Process” against the internet administration ICANN, it was announced that GCCIX WLL has ceased to exist legally. “The Tribunal determines that GCCIX's status as company 'deleted by law' precludes it from engaging in commercial activity under Bahrani law. Those commercial activities undoubtedly include entering into a Registry Agreement and providing the technical and other services required to operate a gTLD”, reads Procedural Order No. 10 of the International Centre For Dispute Resolution dated February 13, 2025. And this has apparently been the case for quite some time: ”GCCIX has not had the legal capacity to operate a gTLD since at least 2018 and has not revived its capacity despite having ample time to do so.” GCCIX WLL does not deny its “deleted by law” status, but had claimed to be commercially active and able to conduct the IRP procedure. The arbitration court's decision is likely to mark the end of the application process. ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee had previously expressed concerns about .gcc, fearing a risk of confusion with the Gulf Cooperation Council, a confederation of six countries on the Arabian Peninsula.

You can find the decision on .gcc at:
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/f ... b25-en.pdf