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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
AttributeLiechtensteinReviewedIranReviewedPhilippinesReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawIslamic law with civil law codificationMixed civil and common law
System of governmentSemi-constitutional hereditary monarchy with direct democracyIslamic republicUnitary presidential republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Principality of LiechtensteinConstitution of the Islamic Republic of IranConstitution of the Republic of the Philippines
In force since192119791987
CapitalVaduzTehranManila
Official languagesGermanPersianFilipino, English
CurrencySwiss Franc (CHF)Rial (IRR)Philippine peso (PHP)
Population40,00089,000,000114,000,000
Division of powersA unitary state of eleven communes, which retain a constitutional right of secession. Power is shared between the Prince, the Landtag and the electorate: 1,000 citizens can demand a referendum on a law and 1,500 can initiate a constitutional amendment. EEA membership adds a supranational layer supervised by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court.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.Unitary but with a constitutionally mandated Local Government Code devolving substantial powers, and one autonomous region: the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, created in 2019 under the Bangsamoro Organic Law with its own parliament and its own Syariah justice system.
How law is madeA bill is debated and adopted by the Landtag, then requires the sanction of the Reigning Prince, whose refusal is absolute and not overridable. Statutes may be subjected to a referendum on the demand of 1,000 citizens or of the Landtag itself, and are published in the Landesgesetzblatt.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.A bill passes three readings in each chamber, is reconciled in a bicameral conference committee, and goes to the President, who may veto it in whole or โ€” uniquely for appropriation, revenue and tariff bills โ€” line by line. Congress may override by two-thirds of each house voting separately. The Constitution also reserves a people's initiative for amendments, though the enabling machinery has repeatedly been held inadequate.
Legal professionRechtsanwรคlte are admitted by the Liechtenstein Bar Association after a law degree, a supervised traineeship and the bar examination; qualifications from Austria and Switzerland are widely recognised. Trustees (Treuhรคnder) are a distinct and significant regulated profession given the importance of foundations and asset structures.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.A single fused profession of attorneys admitted to the Philippine Bar by the Supreme Court itself, which controls admission, discipline and the rules of practice โ€” a power the Constitution assigns to the Court rather than to the executive or a bar council. Candidates complete a four-year law degree and sit the Bar Examinations, historically among the hardest in Asia with pass rates often under 25 per cent. All lawyers belong to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Court has imposed mandatory continuing legal education since 2000.

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.