The USAID Rule of Law Program supports knowledge sharing among judges by enabling them to engage with their international counterparts, thereby keeping them abreast of current legal and scientific developments.

With the Program's support, and in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) office, three Georgian civil and administrative judges, Tsitsino Kikvadze from Kutaisi City Court, Tamar Chikhladze from Tbilisi City Court, and Natia Buskadze, also from Tbilisi City Court, embarked on a visit to Indianapolis, USA from October 2-7. From its end, INL generously funded the participation of four other women judges from Tbilisi City Court and Tbilisi Court of Appeals.

During this visit, the judges attended the 45th Annual Conference of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ), which drew 205 participants not only from the United States, but also from regions such as Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Ukraine), Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Jordan, Maldives), Africa (Tunisia, Nigeria, Belize, Congo, Kenya), and the Americas (Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Guyana, Honduras).

The conference featured distinguished scholars who delivered speeches on recent case law from the US Supreme Court; the application of artificial intelligence in legal research and document drafting; the latest developments in neuroscience; safeguarding independent courts; and the ethical dilemmas faced by judges.

One highlight of the conference was Judge Joseph Bianco from the US Court of Appeals from the Second Circuit introducing the civic education program ‘Justice for All: Courts and the Community Initiative.’ He emphasized the program's various activities aimed at enhancing public access to courts, including courthouse field trips, mock trials, essay contests, and the development of educational resources about the law and the justice system for teachers. He paid tribute to the program's late pioneer, Judge Robert Katzmann, who believed that a profound understanding of courts was essential for democracy and that engaging young people in court and community interactions was pivotal.

The Georgian judges were deeply moved by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who shared a detailed account of her experience as a judge in the Larry Nassar Case. She described how she ensured a sense of justice for the victims, allowing over 150 victims to openly discuss the mistreatment they had suffered in court.

Before this conference, from October 3rd to 4th, the Georgian judges visited federal and state courts in Indianapolis and had the opportunity to meet trailblazing women judges who had "held the door open for other women to come in," thus contributing to a more diverse and representative judiciary.

The Georgian judges had the opportunity to network with judges from the United States and international judges from around the world. Through these interactions, they discovered that women judges face similar challenges everywhere, and they can learn from each other's resilience and success stories.

Judge Tsitsino Kikvadze remarked, “Women judges face the same problems all over the world. The conference plays a special role as it allows us to analyze problems and find solutions together, which is much more efficient than dealing with them individually.”