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 | IndonesiaReviewed | Holy See (Vatican City)Reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Mixed civil, customary and Islamic law | Canon law and civil law |
| System of government | Presidential republic | Ecclesiastical elective absolute monarchy |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 | Fundamental Law of Vatican City State |
| In force since | 1945 | 2023 |
| Capital | Jakarta | Vatican City |
| Official languages | Indonesian | Italian, Latin |
| Currency | Indonesian rupiah (IDR) | Euro (EUR) |
| Population | 281,600,000 | 800 |
| Division of powers | Unitary but heavily decentralised since the 1999 regional autonomy laws, which devolved most service delivery to some 500 regencies and cities rather than to the 38 provinces. Aceh, Papua and its successor provinces, Yogyakarta and Jakarta hold special autonomy statuses with distinct arrangements — Aceh includes Sharia jurisdiction and its own political parties; Yogyakarta's governor is hereditary. | Power is concentrated in the Supreme Pontiff, exercised through the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State (legislative), the Governorate (executive) and the Vatican tribunals (judicial). |
| How law is made | Bills may originate with the DPR, the President or the DPD on regional matters, and require the agreement of both the DPR and the President — a genuine joint enactment rather than assent. Once approved the President promulgates; if he does not, the bill becomes law after 30 days. The Constitutional Court may then annul it. The 2020 Job Creation Law was found conditionally unconstitutional for defective process, which forced the enactment of a new law on legislative drafting. | Laws are prepared by the Pontifical Commission and take effect with the Pope’s approval, published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis supplement. |
| Legal profession | Advocates are admitted under the Advocate Law 2003 after a law degree, a professional course, the bar examination and two years' apprenticeship, then sworn in by a High Court. PERADI is the principal bar association, though the profession has been divided by competing organisations, and the Constitutional Court has held that multiple bars may coexist while a single body administers admission. Notaries are a separate regulated profession with exclusive competence over deeds of incorporation and land transfers. | Advocates are enrolled with the Vatican tribunals; canon lawyers (canonists) practise before ecclesiastical courts. |
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.