On October 4, 2023, Nino Chigoga, Court Manager of Akhaltsikhe District Court partnered with U.S. Judge Timothy Baland to provide 30 young people from the Samtskhe - Javakheti region a basic, comparative, explanation of how the Georgian and U.S. court systems work.

Ms. Chigoga presented a comprehensive overview of the Georgian judicial system and explained the structure of the Akhaltsikhe District Court.

Judge Baland, sketched out the basic structure and function of U.S. courts, offering a comparative analysis between the Minnesota court system and its Georgian counterpart. He also explained the relevance of court activities to the daily lives of young people and spoke on the subject of juvenile delinquency.

Following their explanations, Judge Baland and Ms. Chigoga answered the attendees’ questions about the two systems.  Three Georgian judges from the Akhaltsikhe Court as well as four court staff members also attended the event.

The presentation was made possible through the cooperation of the Akhaltsikhe District Court, USAID Rule of Law Program and the USAID Unity Through Diversity Program.