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 | LibyaIndexed | SpainReviewed | IndonesiaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law with Islamic law as a source | Civil law | Mixed civil, customary and Islamic law |
| System of government | Provisional government with contested authority | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | Presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitutional Declaration (interim) | Spanish Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 |
| In force since | 2011 | 1978 | 1945 |
| Capital | Tripoli | Madrid | Jakarta |
| Official languages | Arabic | Spanish | Indonesian |
| Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | Euro (EUR) | Indonesian rupiah (IDR) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 48,400,000 | 281,600,000 |
| 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. | A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government. | 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. |
| 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 both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent. | 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. |
| 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. | Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts. | 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. |
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.