“Words cannot fully express the immense satisfaction and gratitude I feel after accomplishing my secondment program. I have visited many countries for educational and practical purposes, but my visit to Minnesota exceeded my expectations. Children's rights, custody and care issues, addiction management, mental health, civil commitment, immigration issues, attorneys' fiduciary duties, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution - this is an incomplete list of the issues that I was given the opportunity to observe and work on.” – says Ketevan Meskhishvili, a Tbilisi Court of Appeals judge who recently returned from her two-week secondment with Minnesota’s First Judicial District Court, Scott County, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The secondment, which took place from September 30 to October 14, and from focused on areas of the judge’s interest, was facilitated by the USAID Rule of Law Program partner American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative.

According to Judge Meskhishvili, the visit was productive both in terms of knowledge gained and relations with American colleagues. She attended over eighty court hearings. American colleagues provided her with case materials prior to the beginning of hearings so that what she heard was not new to her, and her presence at the hearings gave her the opportunity to see how American judges handle witnesses and lawyers in a wide variety of cases and circumstances.

The secondment has created a desire in Judge Meskhishvili to study the important decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that have contributed to American democracy and then create a lecture course for use in Georgia on the role of the judge in the democratic development of a country.

The USAID Rule of Law Program is committed to supporting the Georgian judiciary by facilitating judicial exchanges and providing opportunities for Georgian judges to gain exposure to U.S. best practices. These efforts enhance the professional capacity of individual civil and administrative judges in Georgia, enabling them to work effectively and efficiently in their roles. Since the Program began in January 2022, twenty-nine judges and one judicial assistant have participated in study visits to the United States. Additionally, four judges completed secondment visits and five actively participated in demand-driven activities.