What happens when you bring judges from Poland, Hungary and Brazil to the American Midwest to talk with American judges about rule of law?
Last month, the German Marshall Fund of the US, Proteus Fund and the Center for Constitutional Democracy did just that, hosting an event at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Audrey Roofeh, an attorney and the founder of Integrity Matters, a nonprofit that organizes small businesses to stand up for the rule of law, provided a short summary.
According to Audrey, the event created the opportunity to think creatively about how other sectors of society, including private sector actors, can reinforce the importance of an independent judiciary in the United States, and how to engage small businesses around issues of rule of law and judicial independence. Participants were mostly based in Wisconsin and Minnesota and included federal and state judges, retired judges, bar associations, lawyers’ groups, and civic leaders.
Polish, Hungarian, and Brazilian judges all spoke frankly about how authoritarian leaders in their respective countries attempted to dismantle the rule of law, and the institutional as well as personal harm caused by those in power. Participants agreed on the importance of protecting the independence of the judiciary, and acknowledged the risks present in the United States to rule of law.
The speakers all talked about the need for institutions based on the rule of law, independent of political party or belief. They argued that it has been easy for businesses to take for granted the value that comes with an independent, qualified, and impartial judiciary to resolve commercial disputes, and that, at the intersection of judicial independence and the private sector, there is room for relationships to be built and knowledge to be shared.
In conclusion, they generally agreed that, as challenges to the rule of law become more prevalent, more action can and should be taken for business owners to learn the importance of the rule of law, including how it impacts their businesses and their ability to compete in the marketplace. The conference reinforced the need for private sector actors to work together with local bar associations and courts to make rule of law a topic that business owners are conversant in and willing to vocally support as foundational to American capitalism. They encouraged participants to explore a short documentary, March of a Thousand Robes, and to become familiar with the The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct advisory opinion No. 118, from Februrary 2026.