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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 CongoReviewedPanamaReviewedMoroccoReviewed
Legal familyCivil law (Belgian tradition)Civil lawCivil law with Islamic law in personal status
System of governmentUnitary semi-presidential republicUnitary presidential republicConstitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Democratic Republic of the CongoPolitical Constitution of the Republic of PanamaConstitution of the Kingdom of Morocco
In force since200619722011
CapitalKinshasaPanama CityRabat
Official languagesFrench, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, TshilubaSpanishArabic, Tamazight
CurrencyCongolese Franc (CDF)Balboa (US dollar in circulation) (PAB)Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Population102,300,0004,400,00037,500,000
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 ten provinces and five indigenous comarcas. The comarcas โ€” Guna Yala, Emberรก-Wounaan, Ngรคbe-Buglรฉ, Guna de Madugandรญ and Guna de Wargandรญ โ€” hold recognised collective land title and internal authority.Unitary but substantially regionalised since 2015, with twelve regions holding directly elected councils and their own budgets under the advanced regionalisation programme. Regions have executive competences in development planning and transport; they do not legislate.
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.Bills receive three debates in the National Assembly. The President may object in whole or in part; the Assembly insists with a two-thirds vote, after which the President must promulgate unless the objection was constitutional, in which case the Supreme Court decides.Bills may be introduced by the head of government or by members of either chamber. They pass through committee and plenary in both houses, with the House of Representatives having the final word where the chambers disagree. Organic laws must be referred to the Constitutional Court before promulgation. The King promulgates statutes by dahir within thirty days, and may ask parliament to reconsider a bill or submit it to referendum.
Legal professionAvocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; dรฉfenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.Practice requires a Panamanian law degree and a licence from the Supreme Court; the Colegio Nacional de Abogados is influential but membership is voluntary. Only Panamanian lawyers may appear in court, which is why offshore work is routinely structured through local counsel.Avocats are admitted to one of the regional bars and organised nationally through the Association des Barreaux du Maroc; practice before the Court of Cassation requires additional seniority. Notaries and adouls coexist โ€” the notaire handles conveyancing and company documents in the French tradition, while the adoul draws up marriage and inheritance instruments under Islamic law. Judges are career appointments trained at the Institut Supรฉrieur de la Magistrature.

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.