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
Attribute	MonacoReviewed	EthiopiaReviewed	DR CongoReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law with customary and religious personal status	Civil law (Belgian tradition)
System of government	Constitutional hereditary monarchy	Federal parliamentary republic	Unitary semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Principality of Monaco	Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In force since	1962	1995	2006
Capital	Monaco	Addis Ababa	Kinshasa
Official languages	French	Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, Afar	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
Currency	Euro (EUR)	Ethiopian birr (ETB)	Congolese Franc (CDF)
Population	39,000	126,500,000	102,300,000
Division of powers	A unitary state of about two square kilometres with a single commune. Legislative power is exercised jointly by the Prince and the National Council; executive power belongs to the Prince, exercised through the Minister of State and the Government Council; judicial power is delegated by the Prince to the courts, with the Tribunal Suprême acting as both constitutional and supreme administrative court.	Federal, with regional states and two chartered cities, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Regions have their own constitutions, legislatures, executives and court systems, and residual power lies with them rather than the federation. Regional courts exercise delegated federal jurisdiction in areas where federal first-instance courts have not been established, so the two systems interlock in practice.	Semi-presidential: a directly elected President, a Prime Minister from the parliamentary majority, and a bicameral Parliament. The 2006 constitution split the former Supreme Court into three separate apex courts.
How law is made	A bill may be initiated by the Prince or proposed by the National Council. Government bills are laid before the Council, examined in committee and voted; adoption requires the agreement of both the Prince and the Council. The Prince then promulgates the law by sovereign ordinance and it is published in the Journal de Monaco.	Bills are introduced by the Council of Ministers or by members of the House of Peoples' Representatives, examined in standing committee, and passed by simple majority. The House of Federation does not participate in ordinary legislation — its functions are constitutional interpretation, approving state-of-emergency declarations affecting rights, and deciding questions about nations and nationalities. Proclamations take effect on publication in the Federal Negarit Gazeta, which is the authoritative text.	Bills pass both chambers; persistent disagreement is resolved by a joint commission or a final National Assembly vote. The President promulgates within the constitutional period, and the Constitutional Court may be seised beforehand.
Legal profession	A small bar of avocats-défenseurs, avocats and avocats stagiaires, organised as the Ordre des Avocats, with admission requiring Monegasque nationality preference, a law degree and a traineeship. French avocats may appear in specified circumstances. Notaries are appointed by sovereign ordinance and are few in number.	Advocates are licensed federally by the Federal Attorney General's office or regionally by justice bureaux, with the licence determining which courts they may appear before — a federal licence is required for the federal courts. The Ethiopian Federal Advocates Association represents the profession. Judges are appointed on the nomination of the Judicial Administration Council and approved by parliament; law graduates from the university faculties supply both bench and bar.	Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.

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.