53 abroad. There may be legal jurisdiction for a court to prosecute officials from the forum state who perpetrate torture abroad, but special procedures may be applicable which might act to reduce the likelihood of a case against such officials from proceeding. For instance, torture committed by an Australian public official or a person acting in official capacity overseas can be prosecuted, but this requires thorough consent from the Australian AttorneyGeneral.294 However, it may well be practical challenges that prove the most difficult – a victim of torture perpetrated by a foreign official may have difficulty lodging a complaint in the home country of that official. VI.3 Inspection and disciplinary bodies Many public departments which exert control over detainees have administrative complaints bodies or inspectorates which can investigate and sanction any unlawful conduct. Sometimes these bodies operate in conjunction with the penal process, and investigations are intended to lead to prosecutions when there is sufficient evidence. In other instances, these bodies operate in addition to any penal process and take on an internal, disciplinary character. Typically, if sufficiently independent and resourced, such bodies can contribute to the accountability processes and act as important safeguards against misconduct. The UN Committee Against Torture has recommended that certain states establish complaints bodies or inspectorates in order to better tackle impunity in torture cases. It did so in respect of Spain, in relation to which it expressed concern about the impunity and absence of effective and thorough investigations. The Committee urged Spain ‘to create an independent mechanism that conducts prompt, impartial and thorough investigations as regards allegations of torture and ill treatment carried out by law enforcement officials’.295 Inspection and disciplinary bodies are most prevalent for the police: i) ii) In France, the division of the Inspectorate General of the National Police (Inspection générale de la police nationale) is responsible for carrying out administrative and judicial investigations against the staff of the French National Police. It has the power to investigate police officers who fail to respect the Ethics Code of the French National Police.296 Similarly, the Indonesian Police Agency has its own internal inspection mechanism which can result in disciplinary sanctions.297 An internal trial is compulsory where police officers are alleged to have violated ethical standards. iii) In South Africa, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) can investigate alleged criminal acts perpetrated by the South African and Municipal Police Services. Inspection and disciplinary processes are also often in place for the military and there are mechanisms which cater specifically to allegations concerning correctional facilities, such as the South African Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services which is an independent office controlled by the Inspecting Judge and which acts as an independent monitoring body to investigate deaths and a range of abuses in correctional centres.298 Their roles are to investigate the treatment of detainees and conditions of detention, including deaths in detention and allegations of torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or punishment in correctional centres. iv) In England and Wales, most complaints about the police are dealt with by professional standards departments within the relevant police force. However, these departments must refer certain cases to the Independent Office for Police Conduct which investigates the most serious incidents and complaints. This includes indications of misconduct by police officers and staff (for example, that a criminal offence has been committed or a serious injury has been caused) or where a person has suffered a serious injury which may have been connected to contact with the police. Other challenges related to the operation of such complaints bodies are the degree to which they are transparent and the typically more limited extent to which they apply to the security and intelligence services.299