2.1 The core of a ‘FIDIC contract’ is the General Conditions of one of the forms published by FIDIC. However, the General Conditions are only one element of the contract, and are supplemented by various different documents which set out and define the scope of the Parties’ obligations and the basis on which they have contracted. This chapter explains the suite of contracts published by FIDIC, including the five Books which are the subject of this book. It then considers how a contract under the FIDIC forms is intended to be ‘constructed’ and discusses the application of laws to the operation of the contract and the parties’ rights and obligations.