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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
AttributeBruneiReviewedMexicoReviewedCameroonReviewed
Legal familyMixed common law and Islamic lawCivil lawMixed (civil law and common law)
System of governmentAbsolute monarchyFederal presidential republicUnitary presidential republic
ConstitutionConstitution of Brunei DarussalamPolitical Constitution of the United Mexican StatesConstitution of the Republic of Cameroon
In force since195919171972
CapitalBandar Seri BegawanMexico CityYaoundรฉ
Official languagesMalay, EnglishSpanish, Nahuatl, Yucatec MayaFrench, English
CurrencyBrunei dollar (BND)Mexican peso (MXN)Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Population450,000130,000,00028,600,000
Division of powersUnitary, with four districts administered by district officers reporting to the Ministry of Home Affairs. No federal or devolved tier; village and mukim headmen have recognised consultative functions.Federal. Powers not expressly granted to the union are reserved to the 32 states (Article 124). States run their own civil, family and criminal-enforcement codes, but criminal procedure, labour and commercial law were federalised to produce single national codes.A strongly presidential system with a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate, and a judiciary in which the Supreme Court sits above separate common-law and civil-law appellate structures.
How law is madeIn form, bills are introduced in the Legislative Council and assented to by the Sultan. In practice the significant instruments are Orders made by the Sultan under the emergency proclamation, which take effect on publication in the Government Gazette without Council passage. The Syariah Penal Code Order 2013 was enacted this way.Bills may be introduced by the President, either chamber, state legislatures or by citizens with 0.13% of the electoral roll. Both chambers must pass an identical text; the President may veto, and Congress overrides with two-thirds of each chamber. Constitutional amendments need two-thirds of Congress plus a majority of state legislatures (Article 135).Bills pass committee and plenary in the National Assembly and are transmitted to the Senate; disagreement is resolved by a joint commission or a second Assembly vote. The President promulgates or may seek constitutional review.
Legal professionAdvocates and solicitors are admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, generally after qualifying in England, Malaysia, Singapore or Australia and completing local requirements. The profession is small โ€” a few hundred practitioners โ€” and foreign counsel may be admitted ad hoc for particular cases. Syariah practice is a separate track: Syariah lawyers are certified under the Syariah Courts Act and appear only in the Syariah hierarchy, so a matter that crosses both systems needs two sets of representation.A law degree plus a cรฉdula profesional from the Education Ministry licenses practice; there is no compulsory bar examination or single mandatory bar, which distinguishes Mexico from most of the region. Notaries public are a separate, strictly limited state-appointed profession with exclusive competence over real estate and company deeds.A single bar for both legal zones: advocates admitted to the Cameroon Bar Association may practise in common-law and civil-law courts alike, which makes bilingual competence a practical necessity.

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.