Comparison

Read two legal systems against each other

Because every portal follows the same fifteen-section outline, the comparison is genuinely like-for-like rather than a collage of whatever each government happens to publish.

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Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia DR Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See (Vatican City)Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand The Bahamas Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Comparison of selected legal systems
Attribute	AustriaReviewed	South KoreaReviewed
Legal familyIdentical	Civil law	Civil law
System of government	Federal parliamentary republic	Presidential republic
Constitution	Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz (B-VG)	Constitution of the Republic of Korea
In force since	1920	1948
Capital	Vienna	Seoul
Official languages	German	Korean
Currency	Euro (EUR)	South Korean won (KRW)
Population	9,100,000	51,700,000
Division of powers	Nine Länder hold their own constitutions, parliaments and governments, but the federation retains far more legislative power than in Germany or Switzerland; much Länder activity is administering federal law (mittelbare Bundesverwaltung). Three separate high courts sit at the apex, for constitutional, administrative and ordinary matters respectively.	Unitary, with meaningful local autonomy under the Local Autonomy Act: 17 first-level divisions with directly elected governors, mayors and councils. Local ordinances must not contravene statute, and the central government retains extensive supervisory powers. There is no federal division of legislative competence.
How law is made	Bills originate with the government, members of the Nationalrat, the Bundesrat or a popular initiative, and pass three readings in the Nationalrat. The Bundesrat may object but can normally be overridden. The Federal President authenticates the law, the Chancellor countersigns, and it is published in the Bundesgesetzblatt.	Bills may be introduced by the government or by ten or more members of the Assembly. They go to a standing committee, then to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for legal scrutiny, then to plenary. The President may veto a bill within fifteen days, and the Assembly may override with two-thirds of members present and a majority of those on the roll. A 2012 amendment to the National Assembly Act — the so-called Assembly Advancement Act — requires a three-fifths supermajority to bring most contested bills to a vote, which materially raises the threshold for legislating.
Legal profession	A Rechtsanwalt qualifies through a law degree, five years of practical training including at least three in a law firm and some months at court, and the bar examination. Admission is via the regional bar chambers under the umbrella of the Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag. Notaries are a separate profession with appointments limited in number.	Unified: an attorney-at-law (변호사) may appear at every level. Since 2009 the route is a three-year professional law school degree followed by the bar examination, replacing the old system of a single national examination and two years at the Judicial Research and Training Institute; the old route closed fully in 2017. Judges and prosecutors are now recruited from practising lawyers rather than straight from training. The Korean Bar Association regulates admission and discipline.

A comparison table flattens nuance by design. Where a difference matters to a decision you are making, open both portals and read the section in full — the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.