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 | IranReviewed | Guinea-BissauIndexed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Islamic law with civil law codification | Civil law (Portuguese tradition) |
| System of government | Islamic republic | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran | Constitution of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau |
| In force since | 1979 | 1984 |
| Capital | Tehran | Bissau |
| Official languages | Persian | Portuguese, Guinea-Bissau Creole |
| Currency | Rial (IRR) | West African CFA franc (XOF) |
| Population | 89,000,000 | 2,100,000 |
| Division of powers | 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. | Semi-presidential with a directly elected President, a Prime Minister accountable to the National People's Assembly, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court of Justice. |
| How law is made | 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. | Bills are debated and voted by the National People's Assembly and promulgated by the President, who may veto or seek review by the Supreme Court. |
| Legal profession | 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. | Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados da Guinรฉ-Bissau; the profession is small and concentrated in Bissau. |
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 โ the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.