Sept. 27, 2010
Ukrainian Leaders Examine Rule of Law in Central Ohio
Four Ukrainian judicial leaders participating in the Open World Program are spending this week in central Ohio examining the inner workings of the U.S. judicial system and court operations.
Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Eric Brown welcomed the delegation today with a traditional Bread and Salt Ceremony at the Ohio Judicial Center. Justice Robert R. Cupp gave the group an overview of the Ohio judiciary and joined Ohio Northern University Professor Howard Fenton III and Visiting Assistant Professor of Law Elena Helmer in a discussion of the similarities and differences of the American and Ukrainian systems of justice. Steven C. Hollon, Supreme Court administrative director, spoke about the challenges for court administrators, and the group also took a tour of the Ohio Judicial Center.
The delegation is scheduled to observe an oral argument at the Supreme Court on Tuesday and participate in a roundtable discussion on Ohio’s disciplinary system for judges and attorneys.
“Our goal this week is to provide you with ideas, to make suggestions that you might find useful in constantly searching for ways to strengthen the rule of law and ensure that the people have access to a court system that is fair and efficient,” Chief Justice Brown said.
The Columbus International Program serves as host of the delegation in partnership with the Supreme Court and the Russian American Rule of Law Consortium of Colchester, Vt. Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center under Congressional mandate, Open World enhances understanding and cooperation between the United States and Ukraine by developing a network of leaders who have gained significant firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system.
While in central Ohio, the delegates will visit the Ohio State Bar Association, the Union County Common Pleas Court, and attend a Blue Jackets hockey game. Additionally, an afternoon will be spent at Grandview Heights High School where the delegation will meet with student leaders.
Based on Open World Guidelines as well as the participants’ backgrounds and goals, the program has been structured around several main themes: interaction, coordination, and cooperation between and among various levels and branches of government; transparency and accountability from legal and budgetary perspectives; benefits and organization of separation of governmental powers; understanding the roles of American government, civil institutes, free enterprise, and voluntary organizations; promotion of American and Ukrainian cultural awareness and understanding.
The visiting delegates, accompanied by facilitator Nataliya Rudolfivna Mazur, are:
- Tetyana Evhenivna Kolyesnichenko, Presiding Judge, Suvorovskyy Regional Court
- Valeriy Ivanovych Poberezhnyy, Chair of Court, Solomyanskyy District Court of Kyiv
- Serhiy Oleksiyovych Pohribbnyy, Deputy Head of Court, Prymorskyy District
- Inesa Petrivna Sobolyeva, Judge, Deputy Chair of Avdiyivsk City Court.
Delegates are being housed with local families in order to experience American family life. They also are taking part in several cultural and community activities that are designed to expose participants to the wide array of American culture and pastimes including visiting popular locales in the area, attending sporting events, and sampling restaurants.
The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999 and expanded the program in 2003 to all post-Soviet states. Thanks to Open World, some 14,000 current and future Eurasian leaders have experienced American civil society and have been exposed to new ideas and practices that they can adapt for use in their own work. Open World also promotes partnerships and continued communications between delegates and their American hosts and professional counterparts. Open World currently operates exchanges for political and civic leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
For more information, please contact Mark Poeppelman, executive director of the Columbus International Program at 614.221.0034 or Maura Shelden, Open World public affairs officer at 202.707.6197. For more information on Open World, please visit http://www.openworld.gov.
For a high-resolution, print-quality photo of today's Bread and Salt Ceremony, visit: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/news/breadSalt.zip.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow, 614.387.9250.