While thousands of cross-border disputes are successfully resolved each year through institutional arbitration, there appears to be little understanding of the functions exercised by arbitral institutions and their impact on the proceedings they administer. Much like the user of a computer may operate, with relative success, a machine which he does not fully comprehend, users of institutional arbitration have for many decades resolved their disputes successfully through institutional arbitration without fully understanding the precise nature of the functions of what is a key player in the process.This book rectifies this paradoxical gap. It offers a clear yet nuanced overview of the diverse and complex reality of institutional arbitration, while challenging the assumptions conventionally held as to the role of arbitral institutions.This book is the product of a systematic study of the activities performed by over forty leading international arbitration institutions worldwide in their administration of cases (including the ICC, LCIA, ICDR, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, JAMS, CIETAC, KLRCA, DIS, DIA, NAI, CEPANI etc.). This book also examines a wealth of court decisions and bibliographical sources from the leading civil law and common law jurisdictions (e.g., France, England & Wales, the United Sates, Switzerland, Germany).This book is invaluable to academics and practitioners interested in furthering their theoretical and practical understanding of institutional arbitration and arbitral institutions.