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Tucson, Ariz. - The United States District Court, Tucson division, will host a delegation of Russian Judges the second week in June.

Five Russian jurists participating in the Open World Program will spend June 12-16, 2006 in Tucson, exchanging ideas with members of the federal and state judiciary, as well as officers and administrators of the two court systems.

The program for the visiting judges will include participation in a criminal comparative law conference with federal judges regarding aspects of the respective criminal justice systems, observation of federal and state trial proceedings as well as state appellate proceedings, the opportunity to visit with court administrators of the district court and superior court as well as probation officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement officers, a tour of the Evo DeConcini U.S. Courthouse, and other scheduled events.

Since 1998, the U.S. District Court in Tucson has hosted three previous visiting delegations. One judicial delegation was from the Ukraine and two were from Russia.

Managed by the Open World Leadership Center, Open World is the only exchange program in the U.S. legislative branch and its five-year-old rule of law program is the largest United States - Russia judicial exchange. Participants get an inside look at the U.S. judicial system and develop ties with U.S. judges who host them. They also gain insight into how the U.S. political system promotes and protects judicial independence and the rule of law.

The Open World Program is a unique, nonpartisan initiative of the U.S. Congress that builds mutual understanding between the emerging political and civic leaders of participating countries and their U.S. counterparts. It also exposes delegates to ideas and practices they can adapt for use in their own work. Founded in 1999, with a focus on Russia, the program has also in recent years hosted delegations from Lithuania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Delegates range from first-time mayors to experienced journalists, from nonprofit directors to small-business advocates, and from political activists to high-court judges. Nearly, 11,000 Open World participants have hosted in all 50 U.S. states. The program's administering agency, the Open World Leadership Center, is a legislative branch entity with offices at the Library of Congress.

For more information regarding this upcoming visit, please contact Katy Higgins at 520-205-4520. For more information on Open World, please visit http://www.openworld.gov.