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
Attribute	DjiboutiReviewed	São Tomé and PríncipeIndexed
Legal family	Civil law with Islamic and customary personal status	Civil law (Portuguese tradition)
System of government	Semi-presidential republic	Unitary semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Djibouti	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
In force since	1992	1990
Capital	Djibouti	São Tomé
Official languages	Arabic, French, Somali, Afar	Portuguese
Currency	Djiboutian franc (DJF)	São Tomé and Príncipe Dobra (STN)
Population	1,140,000	230,000
Division of powers	Unitary, with five regions and the capital district. Regional councils were introduced by the decentralisation laws of 2002 and hold limited local competences; there is no legislative devolution.	Semi-presidential: a directly elected President with veto and dissolution powers, a Prime Minister accountable to the National Assembly, and an independent judiciary.
How law is made	Bills originate with the government or with deputies, are examined in committee and adopted by the National Assembly. Organic laws require referral to the Constitutional Council before promulgation. The President promulgates within fifteen days and may request a second deliberation. The government may legislate by ordinance under an enabling statute, subject to later ratification.	Bills are debated and voted by the National Assembly and sent to the President for promulgation; the President may veto, returning the text with a message.
Legal profession	A small avocat profession organised in a single bar in the capital, admitted on the French model after a law degree and professional training, frequently completed abroad. Notaries handle conveyancing and company formation. Judges are career appointments, and the limited size of the profession means many practitioners move between bench, bar and government service.	Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados; the profession is very small and many practitioners train in Portugal.

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.