Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick F. Fischer welcomed a group of judges, journalists, and legal experts from Macedonia this week.

They traveled to downtown Cincinnati to visit the Graydon Law firm to learn about the American judiciary.

“They tend to be skeptical about electing judges and how that affected the system,” said Justice Fischer. “I wanted to assure them that the system still works, once you put on a robe and politics goes out the door.”

These visitors were invited to the United States as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program called “Rule of Law.”

Thanks to a translator and earphones, Justice Fischer was able to explain the procedures of the Ohio Supreme Court.

In turn, he got a history lesson too.

“We are a young democracy,” said Judge Zoran Dimitrievski. “(Our) independence was in 1991. We are creating a democratic institution and also with the emphasis of three branches.”

There are clear differences between the way justice is handed out in the United States and Macedonia.

“They don’t follow the same appellate techniques that an American system or a common law system would,” said Justice Fischer.

The U.S. has a special place in Judge Dimitrievski’s heart.

The last time he was here, Macedonia drafted its Criminal Procedure Code or CPC.

“In 2008, I toured New York and Boston. It was an interesting time because we were drafting the new CPC. We gained a very useful experience from the judiciary in the United States,” he said.