Part 4 127 criminal or disciplinary sanctions. In such cases, obedience to superior orders cannot be used to justify misconduct.139 An independent and effective police complaints system is of fundamental importance for the operation of a democratic and accountable police service. Independent and effective handling of complaints enhances public trust and confidence in the police and ensures that there is no impunity for misconduct or ill-treatment. 4.2.1 Civil Society It is important for overall accountability through the organs of the state to be complemented by means by which law enforcement agencies can be held directly accountable to civil society. There are a number of ways of achieving this, such as the formation of local community groups and/or the involvement of NGOs working in the criminal justice or human rights fields. The public and NGOs could provide oversight in the form of review boards of police casework and detention monitoring. NGOs could also undertake activities such as monitoring and reporting on law enforcement, particularly police practices and ways of investigating cases of misconduct, organizing awareness-raising campaigns and handing public complaints against the police. NGOs also have a role to play in co-operating with law enforcement agencies to enhance the respect for human rights, through contributing to reform processes and developing policy manuals and training programmes on human rights. The degree of involvement of civil society may vary from one country to another. Civil society oversight is crucial and the fight against terrorism cannot be used as an excuse to deny it; any factors preventing such oversight should, therefore, be removed. When law enforcement misconduct is properly investigated, this oversight can contribute to awareness of law enforcement efforts to investigate and punish human rights violations and, thus, to the building of public confidence.140 139 UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, op. cit., note 74, Principles 24 – 26. 140 Guidebook on Democratic Policing by the Senior Police Adviser to the OSCE Secretary General, and Good Practices in Building Police-Public Partnerships by the Senior Police Adviser to the OSCE Secretary General, op. cit., note 18, p. 25 and p. 24 respectively.