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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
AttributeMalaysiaReviewedLithuaniaReviewedMoroccoReviewed
Legal familyMixed common law and Islamic lawCivil lawCivil law with Islamic law in personal status
System of governmentFederal constitutional monarchyUnitary semi-presidential republicConstitutional monarchy
ConstitutionFederal Constitution of MalaysiaConstitution of the Republic of LithuaniaConstitution of the Kingdom of Morocco
In force since195719922011
CapitalKuala LumpurVilniusRabat
Official languagesMalay, EnglishLithuanianArabic, Tamazight
CurrencyMalaysian ringgit (MYR)Euro (EUR)Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Population34,100,0002,860,00037,500,000
Division of powersFederal, with 13 states and three federal territories. The Ninth Schedule sets out Federal, State and Concurrent Lists: land, Islamic law, Malay custom and local government are state matters, while trade, finance, defence and civil and criminal law are federal. Sabah and Sarawak hold additional competences โ€” immigration, native customary land, and their own High Court โ€” reflecting the terms on which they joined.Semi-presidential government with a directly elected President focused on foreign and security policy, a Government answerable to the Seimas, and a separate Constitutional Court.Unitary but substantially regionalised since 2015, with twelve regions holding directly elected councils and their own budgets under the advanced regionalisation programme. Regions have executive competences in development planning and transport; they do not legislate.
How law is madeBills pass both houses; the Dewan Negara can delay but not block, and money bills originate in the Dewan Rakyat. Royal assent is required and, since a 1994 amendment, is deemed given after 30 days if withheld. Amendments affecting the rulers, the special position of the Malays, citizenship or the position of Sabah and Sarawak require additional consents beyond the two-thirds majority.Bills are adopted by the Seimas and signed by the President, who may veto and return a bill for reconsideration.Bills may be introduced by the head of government or by members of either chamber. They pass through committee and plenary in both houses, with the House of Representatives having the final word where the chambers disagree. Organic laws must be referred to the Constitutional Court before promulgation. The King promulgates statutes by dahir within thirty days, and may ask parliament to reconsider a bill or submit it to referendum.
Legal professionA fused profession of advocates and solicitors, but regulated separately by territory: the Malaysian Bar under the Legal Profession Act 1976 for Peninsular Malaysia, the Sabah Law Society, and the Advocates Association of Sarawak. Admission requires a recognised law degree or the Certificate in Legal Practice, pupillage of nine months, and admission by the High Court. Syariah practitioners are separately admitted by state Syariah authorities and require Syariah law qualifications.Advocates belong to the Lithuanian Bar Association; notaries handle property, company and succession formalities.Avocats are admitted to one of the regional bars and organised nationally through the Association des Barreaux du Maroc; practice before the Court of Cassation requires additional seniority. Notaries and adouls coexist โ€” the notaire handles conveyancing and company documents in the French tradition, while the adoul draws up marriage and inheritance instruments under Islamic law. Judges are career appointments trained at the Institut Supรฉrieur de la Magistrature.

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.