bodies; however, the majority of the equality bodies have been given competence to hear and investigate complaints. By comparing the Scandinavian equality bodies, the author calls attention to how establishing equality bodies with competence to hear and investigate complaints raises certain legal issues which may diminish the ability of these bodies to provide assistance to victims of discrimination effectively. The author demonstrates how the majority of these issues can be overcome, with the result that equality bodies with competence to hear and investigate complaints are fully effective in meeting both the letter and the spirit of the EU law requirement.