NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS AS A HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION MECHANISM: THE CASES OF THE OMBUDSMAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY INSTITUTION OF TURKEY lodging of applications on the claims of non-discrimination violations free of charge as per Article 17(1) of TIHEK Law and the fact that the identity information of those under custody or protection as well as children and of victim or victims is kept confidential upon their request as for the applications to be lodged to the Institution as per Article 17(7). However, such confidentiality only covers the victims and does not cover witnesses and whistleblowers as required by para. 1.2.3(3) of the Recommendation of the European Commission. 6. TIHEK and Legal Assistance Recoursing to or intervention in legal remedies as well as providing information on legal remedies are important duties of equality institutions. International standards also deal with the provision of information about other means of application, the facilitation of access to these means, the admission of applications or the referral thereof to other authorities within the limits prescribed by law with regard to the rights to those applying to equality institutions. Article 9(1)(ğ) of TIHEK Law lists the following duty among the duties of the Institution: guiding those applying to the Institution on the ground that they are victimized by the violations of non-discrimination about potential administrative and legal remedies for the redressal of their victimization and helping them to follow their applications. Legal advice to be offered in this regard can only be offered by lawyers and must be offered by these persons in order not to cause any forfeiture. TIHEK Law allocates three staff positions for lawyers within the Institution. According to the Institution's 2019 Annual Report, there is no lawyer appointed to these staff positions of the Institution. The scarcity of allocated staff positions requires that the Institution works jointly with the Union of Turkish bar associations or bar associations to fulfill this duty. The law does not grant the Institution any authority to intervene in a case where the victims of discrimination recourse to legal remedies. Granting such authority is of importance for strengthening the position of victims regarding legal remedies and offering due legal and financial assistance to victims. D- TIHEK and Quasi-Jurisdictional Competence The existence of quasi-jurisdictional competence for equality institutions leads to the emergence of a more advantages application procedure for the victims from disadvantaged groups due to reasons such as the facility of lodging a free application without paying any fee, the execution of a procedure that is faster when compared to legal remedies, the prescription of a less formal procedure and the facility of sharing the burden of proof. Besides, recoursing to alternative means of dispute resolution, the mechanisms of redress specific for the situation of victims and, accordingly, the resolution of disputes without being reflected in the public sphere prove to be advantageous for the victims.81 Moreover, judicial bodies are obliged to settle any and all legal disputes while an equality institution engages in quasi-jurisdictional activities only on the matters falling into its mandate, leading to the expertise of the body settling the dispute in terms of the subject. 81 Krizsan, p. 175; Lone Lindholt; Fergus Kerrigan, “General Aspects of Quasi-Judicial Competence of National Human Rights Institutions”, National Human Rights Institutions: Articles and Working Papers, Birgit Lindsnaes; Lone Lindholt; Kristine Yigen, Danish Centre for Human Rights, Denmark, 2005, p. 95-96. 39