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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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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeBotswanaReviewedChadIndexedKenyaReviewed
Legal familyMixed Roman-Dutch and English common lawMixed (French civil law, customary and Islamic law)Mixed (common law, customary law, Islamic law)
System of governmentParliamentary republicUnitary presidential republicUnitary presidential republic with devolved counties
ConstitutionConstitution of BotswanaConstitution of the Republic of ChadConstitution of Kenya
In force since196620232010
CapitalGaboroneN'DjamenaNairobi
Official languagesEnglish, SetswanaFrench, ArabicEnglish, Swahili
CurrencyBotswana pula (BWP)Central African CFA franc (XAF)Kenyan Shilling (KES)
Population2,680,00018,300,00055,100,000
Division of powersUnitary. Districts and sub-districts administer central policy, and the House of Chiefs (Ntlo ya Dikgosi) is an advisory chamber that must be consulted on bills affecting customary law, tribal organisation and tribal property.Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate under the 2023 text, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court.Presidential system with no Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate, 47 county governments with their own assemblies and executives, and an independent judiciary supervised by the Judicial Service Commission.
How law is madeBills are introduced in the National Assembly, take three readings with committee scrutiny between the second and third, and go to the President for assent. Bills affecting customary law, tribal property or the organisation of the tribes must first be referred to the Ntlo ya Dikgosi for its opinion, though that opinion does not bind the Assembly.Bills are examined in committee and plenary and passed by the legislature, then promulgated by the President. The Constitutional Council may be seised before promulgation.Bills are read three times with committee scrutiny and public participation, which the courts treat as a justiciable requirement. Bills concerning counties must pass both chambers. The President assents or refers the bill back with reservations, which Parliament may override by two-thirds.
Legal professionA fused profession of attorneys admitted by the High Court after a recognised law degree and articles of pupillage; there is no split between advocates and attorneys, and the Law Society of Botswana regulates practice.Avocats admitted through the Ordre des avocats du Tchad; the profession is concentrated in N'Djamena.Fused: an LLB, the Kenya School of Law advocates training programme, and admission by the Chief Justice produce an advocate of the High Court. The Law Society of Kenya is the professional body; Senior Counsel is the senior rank.

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.