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Comparison

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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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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeBoliviaReviewedSpainReviewedMaltaReviewed
Legal familyCivil law with indigenous jurisdictionCivil lawMixed (civil and common law)
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchyUnitary parliamentary republic
ConstitutionPolitical Constitution of the Plurinational State of BoliviaSpanish ConstitutionConstitution of Malta
In force since200919781964
CapitalSucreMadridValletta
Official languagesSpanish, Quechua, Aymara, GuaranรญSpanishMaltese, English
CurrencyBolivian boliviano (BOB)Euro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
Population12,400,00048,400,000540,000
Division of powersUnitary with autonomies. Nine departments, municipalities, regions and indigenous territories each have elected assemblies and defined legislative competence under the Framework Law of Autonomies, which makes Bolivia substantially more decentralised than its unitary label suggests.A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government.A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.
How law is madeBills reach the Assembly from members, the executive, citizens or indigenous nations, and must pass both chambers. The President may observe a bill, and the Assembly insists by two-thirds. Total constitutional reform requires a constituent assembly activated by referendum; partial reform needs a two-thirds Assembly vote confirmed by referendum.Bills pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.
Legal professionA law degree plus a national registration with the Ministry of Justice and membership of a departmental colegio de abogados. Practitioners in indigenous jurisdiction are not lawyers: those proceedings are conducted by the community's own authorities under its own norms, and a state lawyer has no right of audience there.Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.

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 โ€” the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.