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
Attribute	ComorosReviewed	MaldivesReviewed	LesothoReviewed
Legal family	Mixed French civil law and Islamic law	Mixed Islamic and common law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law
System of government	Federal presidential republic	Presidential republic	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of the Union of the Comoros	Constitution of the Republic of Maldives	Constitution of Lesotho
In force since	2001	2008	1993
Capital	Moroni	Malé	Maseru
Official languages	Comorian, Arabic, French	Dhivehi	Sesotho, English
Currency	Comorian franc (KMF)	Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)	Lesotho loti (LSL)
Population	850,000	521,000	2,300,000
Division of powers	Federal. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli each have a governor and their own assembly with substantial autonomy over local administration, while the Union handles defence, currency, foreign affairs and nationality.	Unitary with a decentralised layer under the Decentralisation Act 2010: 21 atolls with elected atoll councils, plus island and city councils. Councils have limited revenue-raising and service delivery functions; the geography of roughly 190 inhabited islands makes administrative decentralisation a practical necessity rather than a constitutional division of sovereignty.	Unitary with ten districts, and a recognised hierarchy of chiefs exercising customary functions over land allocation and local dispute resolution. The Senate includes the twenty-two principal chiefs ex officio.
How law is made	Bills originate with the government or members of the Assembly of the Union, are examined in committee and passed by the Assembly, then promulgated by the President. Matters within island competence are legislated by the island assemblies, and disputes over the boundary between Union and island competence are a standing feature of Comorian constitutional practice.	Bills pass the Majlis by simple majority and go to the President, who may assent or return the bill once; a second passage requires assent. The Attorney General advises on constitutionality, and the Supreme Court may rule on it after enactment. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority, and amendments to specified provisions also require a public referendum.	Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly, go to the Senate for review, and receive royal assent. The Senate can delay but not indefinitely block ordinary bills. Amendments to entrenched constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected clauses, a referendum.
Legal profession	A small bar of avocats admitted after French-model legal training, supplemented by qadis who require religious-law qualification for the personal-status jurisdiction; many practitioners train in France or Madagascar.	Lawyers are licensed and regulated by the Maldives Bar Council, established under the Legal Profession Act 2019 — before which licensing sat with the Attorney General's office and then the Department of Judicial Administration. A recognised law degree, the Bar examination and a period of training are required, and licences are tiered by the level of court in which the lawyer may appear.	A split profession in form — advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act — though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.

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.