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 | GuyanaReviewed | IranReviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Mixed common and civil law | Islamic law with civil law codification |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Islamic republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana | Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran |
| In force since | 1980 | 1979 |
| Capital | Georgetown | Tehran |
| Official languages | English | Persian |
| Currency | Guyanese dollar (GYD) | Rial (IRR) |
| Population | 810,000 | 89,000,000 |
| Division of powers | Unitary, with ten regions run by elected Regional Democratic Councils and a Local Government Commission. Indigenous Amerindian communities hold titled village lands under the Amerindian Act 2006 with village councils exercising defined local authority. | Unitary, with 31 provinces headed by governors-general appointed by the Interior Ministry, alongside elected city and village councils created by the Constitution and operating since 1999 with limited competences. |
| How law is made | Bills are read three times in the National Assembly, considered in committee, and assented to by the President, who may withhold assent and return a bill once. Money bills are the executive's initiative. Ordinary amendment of the Constitution needs two-thirds of all elected members; deeply entrenched articles additionally require approval at a referendum. | A bill is introduced by the Government or by at least fifteen deputies, passes the Majlis, and goes to the Guardian Council, which has ten days, extendable, to find it consistent with Islam and the Constitution. If the Council objects, the bill returns for amendment; persistent disagreement goes to the Expediency Discernment Council, whose decision is final. Only then does the President sign and publish. |
| Legal profession | A fused profession: an attorney-at-law both advises and appears. Qualification is normally an LLB from the University of Guyana followed by the Legal Education Certificate from a Council of Legal Education school, then admission by the High Court. The Guyana Bar Association represents practitioners while discipline rests with the courts. | Two parallel routes to practice, which is unusual and consequential: attorneys licensed by the Iranian Bar Association (Kanoon-e Vokala), a self-governing body dating to 1953, and attorneys licensed under Article 187 of the Third Development Plan directly by the judiciary. The two groups have contested each other's standing for two decades. Notaries operate licensed offices under the registration organisation, and their authentication is required for property transfers, marriage contracts and powers of attorney. |
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.