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 | GabonIndexed | MadagascarReviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (French tradition) | French civil law with customary law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Semi-presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Gabonese Republic | Constitution of the Fourth Republic |
| In force since | 2024 | 2010 |
| Capital | Libreville | Antananarivo |
| Official languages | French | Malagasy, French |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Malagasy ariary (MGA) |
| Population | 2,500,000 | 30,300,000 |
| Division of powers | Presidential system under the 2024 constitution, with a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate and a judiciary headed by the Court of Cassation, Council of State and Constitutional Court. | 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 pass committee and plenary in both chambers and are promulgated by the President. The Constitutional Court may review a text before promulgation on referral. | 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 | Avocats admitted through the Ordre des avocats du Gabon; notaires and huissiers are separate regulated professions. | 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.