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	BruneiReviewed	NepalReviewed	DR CongoReviewed	NamibiaReviewed
Legal family	Mixed common law and Islamic law	Mixed common law and Hindu customary tradition	Civil law (Belgian tradition)	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law
System of government	Absolute monarchy	Federal parliamentary republic	Unitary semi-presidential republic	Semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of Brunei Darussalam	Constitution of Nepal	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia
In force since	1959	2015	2006	1990
Capital	Bandar Seri Begawan	Kathmandu	Kinshasa	Windhoek
Official languages	Malay, English	Nepali	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba	English
Currency	Brunei dollar (BND)	Nepalese rupee (NPR)	Congolese Franc (CDF)	Namibian dollar (NAD)
Population	450,000	30,500,000	102,300,000	2,600,000
Division of powers	Unitary, 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 with three tiers: one federal government, seven provinces and 753 local units, each with its own elected assembly and schedule of exclusive powers. This is a genuine constitutional division rather than delegation — local units have taxing and legislative competence — and much post-2015 litigation concerns the boundaries between tiers and the slow transfer of staff and revenue.	Semi-presidential: a directly elected President, a Prime Minister from the parliamentary majority, and a bicameral Parliament. The 2006 constitution split the former Supreme Court into three separate apex courts.	Unitary with 14 administrative regions and elected regional councils, which also constitute the National Council, the upper chamber. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over communal land and customary law.
How law is made	In 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 pass both federal houses, except money bills which originate in the House of Representatives; the President must assent. Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses and, where a provision affects provincial boundaries or powers, the consent of a majority of provincial assemblies. Provinces and local units legislate within their own schedules.	Bills pass both chambers; persistent disagreement is resolved by a joint commission or a final National Assembly vote. The President promulgates within the constitutional period, and the Constitutional Court may be seised beforehand.	Bills pass the National Assembly through three readings, then go to the National Council for review. The Council may confirm, propose amendments, or object; the Assembly can override an objection by a two-thirds majority. The President then assents, and constitutional amendments require two-thirds of both chambers and may never diminish the rights chapter.
Legal profession	Advocates 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 — a few hundred practitioners — 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.	Advocates are licensed by the Nepal Bar Council after a law degree and the Council's examination, with tiers of pleader, advocate and senior advocate. A single licence permits appearance at all levels, and the Nepal Bar Association is the professional body. Legal aid is provided under the Legal Aid Act 1997 through district committees, and the Constitution guarantees free legal aid to indigent parties.	Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.	A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act: a single class of legal practitioner is admitted after a law degree and the Justice Training Centre's postgraduate course, and the Law Society of Namibia regulates practice.

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.