Dispute boards are created by contract. The basis for the decisions made by the dispute board is grounded in the law of the country in which the contract is executed (or the country agreed on by the parties) and which ultimately governs its execution. As an example, the FIDIC Contracts state specifically: ‘The Contract shall be governed by the law of the country (or other jurisdiction) stated in the Appendix to Tender.’ The major legal systems worldwide that most often govern contracts and ultimately dispute boards are the common law and the civil law.