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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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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeIranReviewedNamibiaReviewedPakistanReviewed
Legal familyIslamic law with civil law codificationMixed Roman-Dutch and English common lawMixed common law and Islamic law
System of governmentIslamic republicSemi-presidential republicFederal parliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Islamic Republic of IranConstitution of the Republic of NamibiaConstitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
In force since197919901973
CapitalTehranWindhoekIslamabad
Official languagesPersianEnglishUrdu, English
CurrencyRial (IRR)Namibian dollar (NAD)Pakistani rupee (PKR)
Population89,000,0002,600,000241,500,000
Division of powersUnitary, 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.Unitary with 14 administrative regions and elected regional councils, which also constitute the National Council, the upper chamber. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over communal land and customary law.Federal, with four provinces โ€” Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan โ€” plus Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under distinct constitutional arrangements. The 18th Amendment abolished the Concurrent Legislative List, leaving residual power with the provinces and giving them primary responsibility for education, health, labour and local government. The Council of Common Interests mediates federal-provincial disputes over resources.
How law is madeA 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 pass the National Assembly through three readings, then go to the National Council for review. The Council may confirm, propose amendments, or object; the Assembly can override an objection by a two-thirds majority. The President then assents, and constitutional amendments require two-thirds of both chambers and may never diminish the rights chapter.Money bills originate in the National Assembly only. Other bills may start in either house and must pass both; disagreement is resolved in a joint sitting. The President may return a bill once, after which a joint sitting can override. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority in both houses. Provincial assemblies legislate on all matters not on the Federal Legislative List.
Legal professionTwo 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 fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act: a single class of legal practitioner is admitted after a law degree and the Justice Training Centre's postgraduate course, and the Law Society of Namibia regulates practice.A single fused profession of advocates, enrolled with a provincial bar council after a law degree and the licensing examination, with separate rights of audience acquired by seniority: enrolment allows appearance in subordinate courts, then the High Court after two years, then the Supreme Court after ten years of High Court practice. The Pakistan Bar Council regulates nationally. Bar associations are politically influential and were central to the 2007-2009 lawyers' movement that secured the restoration of the deposed Chief Justice.

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.