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 | GhanaReviewed | LaosReviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Mixed (common law and customary law) | Socialist civil law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Socialist one-party republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Ghana | Constitution of the Lao People's Democratic Republic |
| In force since | 1992 | 1991 |
| Capital | Accra | Vientiane |
| Official languages | English, Akan, Ewe, Dagbani | Lao |
| Currency | Ghanaian Cedi (GHS) | Kip (LAK) |
| Population | 34,100,000 | 7,600,000 |
| Division of powers | Executive president with a Cabinet drawn substantially from Parliament, a unicameral legislature, and a judiciary whose independence is protected by security of tenure and a charged-on-consolidated-fund salary. | Unitary, with 17 provinces and the Vientiane capital. The 2015 constitutional amendment introduced Provincial People's Assemblies with limited local legislative and supervisory functions, but appointment of governors and fiscal control remain central. |
| How law is made | A bill is gazetted, read three times, considered by committee and passed by simple majority. Bills with financial implications need presidential consent to be introduced. The President assents; refusal returns the bill with reasons. | Draft laws are prepared by ministries, reviewed by the Ministry of Justice and the Assembly's committees, and passed by the National Assembly, which meets in ordinary session twice a year. The President promulgates by decree. Because sessions are short and infrequent, a great deal of binding detail is issued as government decrees and ministerial instructions between sittings. |
| Legal profession | Fused: an LLB, the Ghana School of Law professional course and enrolment admit a lawyer who may both solicit and advocate. | The Lao Bar Association, established under the Law on Lawyers, licenses practitioners after a law degree and a period of supervised practice; the profession remains very small relative to population. Village mediation units handle a large share of civil and family disputes before any court becomes involved, and are formally recognised as part of the justice system rather than an informal alternative to it. Foreign lawyers advise on commercial and investment matters but cannot appear in court. |
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.