An Israeli company filed a lawsuit against a Jordanian company in which it claimed that although no contract had been signed, the exchange of drafts between the parties constitutes a binding contract between them regarding a business venture to fly Muslim pilgrims from Israel to the Haj and Khadra festivals in the holy sites in Saudi Arabia. The Jordanian company moved the Court for a stay of proceedings due to an arbitration clause in London that was in the draft.
The Court held that the Israeli plaintiff company can not file a claim arguing that the parties have a binding contract but at the same time repudiate the arbitration clause that was part of the draft. For this reason, the New York Convention applies whereby the Courts of the State will stay legal proceedings and refer the proceeding to arbitration if there is an arbitration clause made in a writing. For this purpose, it was determined that the e-mail exchange of drafts meets the writing requirement of the New York Convention.