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	FijiReviewed	ChileReviewed	NigerIndexed
Legal family	Common law with customary law	Civil law	Civil law (French tradition)
System of government	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary presidential republic	Republic under military-led government
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Fiji	Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile	Constitution of the Seventh Republic (suspended)
In force since	2013	1980	2010
Capital	Suva	Santiago	Niamey
Official languages	English, Fijian, Fiji Hindi	Spanish	French, Hausa, Zarma
Currency	Fijian dollar (FJD)	Chilean peso (CLP)	West African CFA franc (XOF)
Population	930,000	19,600,000	26,200,000
Division of powers	Unitary and deliberately centralised. Section 1 declares Fiji a sovereign state whose Parliament legislates for the whole country; there are no provinces with legislative power. The 14 provincial councils and the iTaukei Affairs Board administer indigenous affairs under the iTaukei Affairs Act. Rotuma has a distinct status under the Rotuma Act.	Unitary. Sixteen regions administer but do not legislate. Regional governors have been directly elected since 2021, which shifted real power away from the centrally appointed delegates, but legislative competence remains exclusively national.	Under the suspended constitution, a semi-presidential system with a President, Prime Minister and National Assembly. Currently executive and legislative authority is concentrated in the CNSP and an appointed government.
How law is made	Bills are introduced in the unicameral Parliament, referred to a standing committee, and pass through second reading, committee and third reading before assent by the President. There is no upper house. A constitutional amendment requires the support of three-quarters of all members of Parliament and then approval by three-quarters of registered voters at a referendum, a threshold that has never been met.	Bills originate with the President or in either chamber, though tax, budget and social-security bills are the President's exclusive initiative — an unusually strong executive agenda power. Both chambers must approve; a mixed committee resolves conflict. The President may veto, overridden by two-thirds. Constitutional amendment needs four-sevenths of sitting members, with two-thirds for certain entrenched chapters.	Legislation is currently made by order of the governing authority and published in the Journal Officiel. The suspended constitution provided for ordinary parliamentary passage and presidential promulgation.
Legal profession	A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act 2009: practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice as barristers and solicitors. Most qualify through the University of the South Pacific law degree followed by the Professional Diploma in Legal Practice. Admission and discipline are handled by the Chief Registrar and the Independent Legal Services Commission rather than by the Fiji Law Society, which is a voluntary professional body.	A five-year degree, a supervised practice period, and admission by the Supreme Court itself, which is unusual — the Court, not a bar, confers the title of abogado. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados has been voluntary since 1981, so the Court retains disciplinary jurisdiction over misconduct.	Avocats admitted through the Barreau du Niger after a law degree and traineeship; notaires and huissiers are separate offices.

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.