PART TWO: CONTENT OF COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW court order or impose administrative fines” for non-compliance.773 To the extent that equality bodies fulfil investigatory functions, mechanisms must be in place to ensure that complaints are investigated “promptly, impartially, and independently”.774 2. Support and litigation PART TWO – IV Alongside promotion and prevention, many equality bodies also possess a support and litigation function. In its guidance, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance lists six competences that are necessary to support this function. SUPPORT AND LITIGATION According to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, the support and litigation function of equality bodies should include the competences to: a. Receive complaints and provide personal support and legal advice and assistance to people exposed to discrimination or intolerance, in order to secure their rights before institutions, adjudicatory bodies and the courts. b. Have recourse to conciliation procedures when appropriate. c. Represent, with their consent, people exposed to discrimination or intolerance before institutions, adjudicatory bodies, and the courts. d. Bring cases of individual and structural discrimination or intolerance in the equality body’s own name before institutions, adjudicatory bodies and the courts. e. Intervene as amicus curiae, third party or expert before institutions, adjudicatory bodies, and the courts. f. Monitor the execution of decisions of institutions, adjudicatory bodies, and the courts dealing with equality, discrimination and intolerance.775 The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance states that “equality bodies should have the right to choose, based on published criteria established by them, the cases they take up for representation and strategic litigation”.776 Furthermore, “States should ensure that there is a system by which people exposed to discrimination or intolerance do not have to bear court and administrative fees or representation fees, in particular in cases of structural discrimination and where their cases are taken up for strategic litigation”.777 3. Decision-making and enforcement While all equality bodies will perform some combination of promotion, prevention, litigation and support functions, in some countries, these bodies have also been afforded special decision-making and enforcement responsibilities. Broadly, decision-making bodies can be divided into two categories: those that issue binding decisions and those that make (non-binding) recommendations. According to the guidance of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, bodies of the first type should be granted powers to remedy discrimination and prevent future occurrences, including through the imposition of “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions”, including fines and compensation.778 These bodies must be able to “ensure the execution and implementation of their decisions”, which should be 773 Ibid. 774 See, for instance, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009), para. 40. 775 Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, “ECRI general policy recommendation No. 2”, para. 14. 776 Ibid., para. 15. 777 Ibid., para. 16. 778 Ibid., para. 17 (c). 111