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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| Attribute | Equatorial GuineaIndexed | PakistanReviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (Spanish tradition) | Mixed common law and Islamic law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Federal parliamentary republic |
| Constitution | Fundamental Law of Equatorial Guinea | Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| In force since | 1991 | 1973 |
| Capital | Malabo | Islamabad |
| Official languages | Spanish, French, Portuguese | Urdu, English |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Pakistani rupee (PKR) |
| Population | 1,700,000 | 241,500,000 |
| 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. | Federal, with four provinces — Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — plus Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under distinct constitutional arrangements. The 18th Amendment abolished the Concurrent Legislative List, leaving residual power with the provinces and giving them primary responsibility for education, health, labour and local government. The Council of Common Interests mediates federal-provincial disputes over resources. |
| 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. | Money bills originate in the National Assembly only. Other bills may start in either house and must pass both; disagreement is resolved in a joint sitting. The President may return a bill once, after which a joint sitting can override. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority in both houses. Provincial assemblies legislate on all matters not on the Federal Legislative List. |
| Legal profession | Abogados admitted through the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados; practice requires competence in both Spanish codes and French-language OHADA texts. | A single fused profession of advocates, enrolled with a provincial bar council after a law degree and the licensing examination, with separate rights of audience acquired by seniority: enrolment allows appearance in subordinate courts, then the High Court after two years, then the Supreme Court after ten years of High Court practice. The Pakistan Bar Council regulates nationally. Bar associations are politically influential and were central to the 2007-2009 lawyers' movement that secured the restoration of the deposed Chief Justice. |
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.