A French citizen signed before a notary public in France a Hebrew agreement for the sale of an apartment is Israel. Later, the seller sought to withdraw from the agreement, contending that his signature was invalid because he does not speak Hebrew.
The Court held that the sale agreement is enforceable. The two main requirements for the execution of a binding agreement are intent, which stands for the parties’ will to enter into an agreement, and specificity, which requires that the contract include all the essential details. These two requirements are interrelated so that the existence of specificity may attest to the parties’ intent. The parties’ signature on an agreement is one of the external manifestations of the existence of an intent, because a person's signature on a document constitutes confirmation that he understood its content and gave his consent to it, especially when signed before a lawyer or notary public. Here, the agreement is a comprehensive one which contained all the essential conditions for the execution of the agreement the seller was represented and his signature was certified by a notary public. It is therefore apparent that the seller had the intent required to enter into the agreement and therefore the agreement is enforceable.