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 | Equatorial GuineaIndexed | BotswanaReviewed | CubaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (Spanish tradition) | Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law | Socialist civil law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Parliamentary republic | One-party socialist republic |
| Constitution | Fundamental Law of Equatorial Guinea | Constitution of Botswana | Constitución de la República de Cuba |
| In force since | 1991 | 1966 | 2019 |
| Capital | Malabo | Gaborone | Havana |
| Official languages | Spanish, French, Portuguese | English, Setswana | Spanish |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Botswana pula (BWP) | Cuban peso (CUP) |
| Population | 1,700,000 | 2,680,000 | 11,200,000 |
| Division of powers | Presidential system with a Vice-President and Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of Chamber of Deputies and Senate, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court of Justice. | Unitary. Districts and sub-districts administer central policy, and the House of Chiefs (Ntlo ya Dikgosi) is an advisory chamber that must be consulted on bills affecting customary law, tribal organisation and tribal property. | Unitary, organised on the principle of a single system of state power. The 2019 Constitution and the 2019 territorial reform recognise 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, with provincial governors appointed on the President's nomination. |
| How law is made | Bills pass the Chamber of Deputies and Senate and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text for reconsideration. | Bills are introduced in the National Assembly, take three readings with committee scrutiny between the second and third, and go to the President for assent. Bills affecting customary law, tribal property or the organisation of the tribes must first be referred to the Ntlo ya Dikgosi for its opinion, though that opinion does not bind the Assembly. | Legislative initiative lies with deputies, the Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the courts, the Prosecutor General, mass organisations and 10,000 citizens by popular initiative. The Assembly meets in short ordinary sessions, so much law is made by decree-law of the Council of State and subsequently ratified. Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the Assembly, and a referendum for provisions on the political system or rights. |
| Legal profession | Abogados admitted through the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados; practice requires competence in both Spanish codes and French-language OHADA texts. | A fused profession of attorneys admitted by the High Court after a recognised law degree and articles of pupillage; there is no split between advocates and attorneys, and the Law Society of Botswana regulates practice. | Practising litigators generally work through the Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos, a self-financing national body of collective law offices; independent private practice is not a recognised route. Membership of the Unión Nacional de Juristas de Cuba is the professional association. Notarial functions are performed by state notaries. |
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.