Arbitral functions and constitutive rules

Nowadays, it is widely recognized that constitutive rules play a key role in social ontology. They are considered the primary source of meaning for every rule-based activity. But what can ensure the persistence of such activities? The most common proposed solution is to rely on social acceptance, and even though this is certainly part of the story, it is nonetheless not sufficient to explain what happens in breakdown situations. We need to embed into the system something that would preserve it from destruction. Our claim is that for this purpose, an arbitral function is needed. Intuitively, an arbitral function is a mechanism which is--at least partially--extra-contextual, and it is introduced to solve possible or actual impasses. This function may equally well be played by an intentional agent (like a referee in a football game) or by an extra-contextual rule (as the 50-move rule in chess). Our contribution aims to introduce the novel concept of arbitral function and show that it is widespread in institutional reality and it is essential in every institution. Finally, if constitutive rules determine that a certain activity counts as a valid element of an institution, then arbitral functions ensure that this activity persists by preventing impasses.