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 | UruguayReviewed | PhilippinesReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (Spanish tradition) | Civil law | Mixed civil and common law |
| System of governmentIdentical | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic |
| Constitution | Fundamental Law of Equatorial Guinea | Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay | Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines |
| In force since | 1991 | 1967 | 1987 |
| Capital | Malabo | Montevideo | Manila |
| Official languages | Spanish, French, Portuguese | Spanish | Filipino, English |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Uruguayan peso (UYU) | Philippine peso (PHP) |
| Population | 1,700,000 | 3,400,000 | 114,000,000 |
| 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. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly. | Unitary but with a constitutionally mandated Local Government Code devolving substantial powers, and one autonomous region: the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, created in 2019 under the Bangsamoro Organic Law with its own parliament and its own Syariah justice system. |
| 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 pass both chambers; disagreement is resolved by the General Assembly sitting jointly. The executive may veto, overcome by three-fifths of the joint assembly. Distinctively, 25% of registered voters can force a referendum to repeal a statute within one year of promulgation, and 10% can initiate a constitutional plebiscite. | A bill passes three readings in each chamber, is reconciled in a bicameral conference committee, and goes to the President, who may veto it in whole or โ uniquely for appropriation, revenue and tariff bills โ line by line. Congress may override by two-thirds of each house voting separately. The Constitution also reserves a people's initiative for amendments, though the enabling machinery has repeatedly been held inadequate. |
| Legal profession | Abogados admitted through the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados; practice requires competence in both Spanish codes and French-language OHADA texts. | A degree from the Universidad de la Repรบblica or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos pรบblicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing. | A single fused profession of attorneys admitted to the Philippine Bar by the Supreme Court itself, which controls admission, discipline and the rules of practice โ a power the Constitution assigns to the Court rather than to the executive or a bar council. Candidates complete a four-year law degree and sit the Bar Examinations, historically among the hardest in Asia with pass rates often under 25 per cent. All lawyers belong to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Court has imposed mandatory continuing legal education since 2000. |
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.