KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — This week, Knoxville is hosting five court officials from the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan. The officials were sponsored by the Congressional Office for International Leadership.
The five officials also had a facilitator and an interpreter. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee served as their host court as they heard a presentation from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Defender Services.
They then toured the Howard H. Baker Jr. Courthouse and the UT Law College. On Wednesday, the court officials will attend hearings from Judges Crytzer and Varlan, as well as Magistrate Judges Debra Poplin and Jill McCook.
They will then visit the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law and the Tennessee Supreme Court Building. There, they will be able to speak with Presiding Judge Michael Swiney and Judge John McClarty from the state Court of Appeals.
While in Knoxville, the five Uzbekistan officials also visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and discussed legal complexities that could arise from a natural park that size. The officials are in Knoxville until Oct. 15. Before arriving, they completed orientation in Washington D.C.
COIL is an agency of the U.S. Congress that helps facilitate and sponsor visits to the U.S. with delegations from countries like Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Turkmenistan. Part of how they bring foreign officials to visit is through the Open World program, which promotes opportunities for U.S. leaders and new post-Soviet Bloc leaders to engage more meaningfully.
Along with the officials from Uzbekistan, delegations from Moldova and North Macedonia are also visiting cities in the U.S. The Friendship Force of Knoxville served as the hosting organization for the Uzbekistan delegation.
