Duke University Master of Judicial Studies Programme (USA): Supreme Court Judge among 22 selected judges

Supreme Court Judge of the Commercial Cassation Court Olena Kibenko took part in the Master's Programme in Judicial Studies administered by the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School in Durham, North Carolina, USA. 

Participants of the programme were selected following an open competition held by the Bolch Institute that lasted more than 6 months. The winners of the competition were 20 American judges (both from the federal and state courts of various instances), as well as two international judges - Olena Kibenko and a judge from the Supreme Court of Vanuatu.

This academic programme is designed specifically for the professional development of sitting judges. It covers in-depth study of disciplines that can be described as soft skills for judges: analytical methods, finance for judges, methods of interpreting legal norms, modern approaches to writing judgments and legal research, use of AI in judicial work, etc. The programme is designed to last for two years and is based on a combination of online and offline learning.

The programme's peculiarity lies in its interactivity and the use of the well-known Socratic teaching method, i.e., the programme involves studying a significant amount of educational materials (court decisions, articles, textbooks) and further discussion and exchange of experience between judges from different courts, jurisdictions, and countries.

The programme provides an opportunity to use all the resources of Duke University, including an online library with more than 40 different search databases that provide access to case law and scientific publications from almost all countries of the world.