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	EgyptReviewed	NamibiaReviewed	MadagascarReviewed
Legal family	Civil law with Islamic law as principal source	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	French civil law with customary law
System of governmentIdentical	Semi-presidential republic	Semi-presidential republic	Semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia	Constitution of the Fourth Republic
In force since	2014	1990	2010
Capital	Cairo	Windhoek	Antananarivo
Official languages	Arabic	English	Malagasy, French
Currency	Egyptian pound (EGP)	Namibian dollar (NAD)	Malagasy ariary (MGA)
Population	105,000,000	2,600,000	30,300,000
Division of powers	Unitary, with 27 governorates headed by governors appointed by the President. There is no legislative devolution — governorates administer central policy, and local popular councils have been without elections for over a decade.	Unitary with 14 administrative regions and elected regional councils, which also constitute the National Council, the upper chamber. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over communal land and customary law.	Unitary with a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented.
How law is made	Bills originate with the government, the President or members of the House of Representatives. They are examined in committee and passed by the House; the President may return a bill once, which the House can override by a two-thirds majority. Where the House is not in session the President may issue decree-laws that have the force of law but lapse unless ratified at the next session. Bills touching the judiciary must be put to the relevant judicial body for its opinion first.	Bills pass the National Assembly through three readings, then go to the National Council for review. The Council may confirm, propose amendments, or object; the Assembly can override an objection by a two-thirds majority. The President then assents, and constitutional amendments require two-thirds of both chambers and may never diminish the rights chapter.	Bills originate with the government or members of either chamber, are examined in committee, and must pass both the National Assembly and the Senate; the Assembly prevails on disagreement. The Haute Cour Constitutionnelle may review a law before promulgation, and organic laws must be referred to it as a matter of course.
Legal profession	A single fused profession of advocates enrolled with the Egyptian Bar Association, with rights of audience tiered by seniority — appearance before the Court of Cassation requires years of practice and separate admission. Judges are career appointments recruited largely from the prosecution service and trained through the National Centre for Judicial Studies; the Council of State maintains a separate judicial career for administrative judges.	A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act: a single class of legal practitioner is admitted after a law degree and the Justice Training Centre's postgraduate course, and the Law Society of Namibia regulates practice.	Avocats admitted to the Ordre des avocats de Madagascar after a law degree and professional training, alongside notaires for authenticated instruments and huissiers for service and enforcement — the standard French division of functions.

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.