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.
Select up to six documented jurisdictions
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| Attribute | DenmarkReviewed | MonacoReviewed | ColombiaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (Nordic) | Civil law | Civil law |
| System of government | Constitutional monarchy | Constitutional hereditary monarchy | Unitary presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitutional Act of Denmark (Grundloven) | Constitution of the Principality of Monaco | Political Constitution of Colombia |
| In force since | 1953 | 1962 | 1991 |
| Capital | Copenhagen | Monaco | Bogotá |
| Official languages | Danish | French | Spanish |
| Currency | Danish krone (DKK) | Euro (EUR) | Colombian peso (COP) |
| Population | 5,900,000 | 39,000 | 52,100,000 |
| Division of powers | Parliamentary government in which the cabinet is drawn from and answerable to the Folketing, with an independent unified judiciary. | A unitary state of about two square kilometres with a single commune. Legislative power is exercised jointly by the Prince and the National Council; executive power belongs to the Prince, exercised through the Minister of State and the Government Council; judicial power is delegated by the Prince to the courts, with the Tribunal Suprême acting as both constitutional and supreme administrative court. | Unitary but markedly decentralised. Thirty-two departments and the Capital District have elected governors, mayors and assemblies with taxing and spending powers, and indigenous territories exercise their own jurisdiction under Article 246, but legislative competence stays with the national Congress. |
| How law is made | Bills pass three readings in the Folketing and receive royal assent. A minority of members can require certain bills to be put to a referendum. | A bill may be initiated by the Prince or proposed by the National Council. Government bills are laid before the Council, examined in committee and voted; adoption requires the agreement of both the Prince and the Council. The Prince then promulgates the law by sovereign ordinance and it is published in the Journal de Monaco. | Bills need four debates, two in each chamber, in successive committee and plenary stages within a single legislature. Statutory laws on rights must clear the Constitutional Court before promulgation. Amendments proceed by act of Congress over two consecutive ordinary sessions, by referendum, or by constituent assembly; the Court may strike an amendment down for substituting the Constitution rather than reforming it. |
| Legal profession | A single advokat profession admitted after a law degree, practical training and a bar course; judges are appointed from experienced lawyers. | A small bar of avocats-défenseurs, avocats and avocats stagiaires, organised as the Ordre des Avocats, with admission requiring Monegasque nationality preference, a law degree and a traineeship. French avocats may appear in specified circumstances. Notaries are appointed by sovereign ordinance and are few in number. | A five-year degree, a period of practice or a monograph, and a professional card (tarjeta profesional) issued by the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura, which also disciplines lawyers. Advocacy in most matters requires a licensed abogado, but the tutela is a deliberate exception: it may be filed by anyone, in writing or orally, without a lawyer. |
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.