Comparison

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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
Attribute	LibyaIndexed	NamibiaReviewed	MaltaReviewed	SamoaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law with Islamic law as a source	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Mixed (civil and common law)	Common law with customary law
System of government	Provisional government with contested authority	Semi-presidential republic	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitutional Declaration (interim)	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia	Constitution of Malta	Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa
In force since	2011	1990	1964	1962
Capital	Tripoli	Windhoek	Valletta	Apia
Official languages	Arabic	English	Maltese, English	Samoan, English
Currency	Libyan dinar (LYD)	Namibian dollar (NAD)	Euro (EUR)	Samoan tālā (WST)
Population	6,900,000	2,600,000	540,000	220,000
Division of powers	Nominally unitary with governorates and municipalities. In practice authority is divided between competing administrations and local armed actors, and municipal councils have in many places become the most functional layer of government.	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.	A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.	Unitary. Parliament legislates for the whole country. Below it, about 250 villages govern themselves through the village fono (council of matai) under the Village Fono Act 1990, which gives customary village authority statutory recognition — a genuine layer of local government rather than a delegation of central power.
How law is made	There is no single functioning legislative process. The House of Representatives passes laws that the High Council of State contests, and the rival administrations issue decrees within their areas of control. Whether a given instrument is law therefore depends on which authority is recognised, which is exactly why this profile is marked as requiring research rather than described as settled.	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.	Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.	Bills are read three times in the Legislative Assembly, usually with parliamentary committee scrutiny, and are then assented to by the O le Ao o le Malo. Ordinary bills need a simple majority. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of all members at the third reading, and any amendment affecting customary land or matai titles is politically entrenched by the strength of the fa'a Samoa consensus even where the two-thirds threshold is met.
Legal profession	Advocates are admitted through the Libyan Bar Association, and the profession has continued to function, including in human-rights litigation, despite serious risks to practitioners. Judicial appointments run through the Supreme Judicial Council. Reliable current information on admission requirements and numbers is limited, which is reflected in the verification status of this entry.	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.	Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.	A fused profession under the Lawyers and Legal Practice Act 2014: lawyers are admitted by the Supreme Court and must hold a practising certificate from the Samoa Law Society. Most qualify at the University of the South Pacific or in New Zealand. Practice before the Land and Titles Court is different in character from ordinary litigation, because the issues are matai genealogy and customary entitlement rather than statutory or common-law rights.

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.