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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
AttributeDR CongoReviewedIranReviewedGermanyReviewed
Legal familyCivil law (Belgian tradition)Islamic law with civil law codificationCivil law
System of governmentUnitary semi-presidential republicIslamic republicFederal parliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Democratic Republic of the CongoConstitution of the Islamic Republic of IranGrundgesetz (Basic Law)
In force since200619791949
CapitalKinshasaTehranBerlin
Official languagesFrench, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, TshilubaPersianGerman
CurrencyCongolese Franc (CDF)Rial (IRR)Euro (EUR)
Population102,300,00089,000,00084,400,000
Division of powersSemi-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 31 provinces headed by governors-general appointed by the Interior Ministry, alongside elected city and village councils created by the Constitution and operating since 1999 with limited competences.Rechtsstaat separation of powers with an unusually strong Federal Constitutional Court that can annul statutes and hear individual constitutional complaints.
How law is madeBills 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.A bill is introduced by the Government or by at least fifteen deputies, passes the Majlis, and goes to the Guardian Council, which has ten days, extendable, to find it consistent with Islam and the Constitution. If the Council objects, the bill returns for amendment; persistent disagreement goes to the Expediency Discernment Council, whose decision is final. Only then does the President sign and publish.Bills originate with the government, Bundestag or Bundesrat, pass three readings in the Bundestag, then require Bundesrat consent or non-objection; a mediation committee resolves deadlock.
Legal professionAvocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; dรฉfenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.Two parallel routes to practice, which is unusual and consequential: attorneys licensed by the Iranian Bar Association (Kanoon-e Vokala), a self-governing body dating to 1953, and attorneys licensed under Article 187 of the Third Development Plan directly by the judiciary. The two groups have contested each other's standing for two decades. Notaries operate licensed offices under the registration organisation, and their authentication is required for property transfers, marriage contracts and powers of attorney.Two state examinations plus a two-year Referendariat produce the unified jurist qualified as Rechtsanwalt, judge, prosecutor or notary.

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.