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	NamibiaReviewed	CanadaReviewed	KenyaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Bijural: common law and Québec civil law	Mixed (common law, customary law, Islamic law)
System of government	Constitutional hereditary monarchy	Semi-presidential republic	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Unitary presidential republic with devolved counties
Constitution	Constitution of the Principality of Monaco	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia	Constitution Acts, 1867 and 1982	Constitution of Kenya
In force since	1962	1990	1982	2010
Capital	Monaco	Windhoek	Ottawa	Nairobi
Official languages	French	English	English, French	English, Swahili
Currency	Euro (EUR)	Namibian dollar (NAD)	Canadian Dollar (CAD)	Kenyan Shilling (KES)
Population	39,000	2,600,000	41,200,000	55,100,000
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.	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.	Sections 91 and 92 divide federal and provincial competence. Section 33 allows a legislature to override certain Charter rights for renewable five-year periods.	Presidential system with no Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate, 47 county governments with their own assemblies and executives, and an independent judiciary supervised by the Judicial Service Commission.
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 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.	Three readings plus committee study in each chamber, then Royal Assent. Money bills must originate in the Commons.	Bills are read three times with committee scrutiny and public participation, which the courts treat as a justiciable requirement. Bills concerning counties must pass both chambers. The President assents or refers the bill back with reservations, which Parliament may override by two-thirds.
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.	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.	Provincial law societies regulate admission: an accredited degree, articles, and bar admission courses. Québec has separate avocat and notaire professions.	Fused: an LLB, the Kenya School of Law advocates training programme, and admission by the Chief Justice produce an advocate of the High Court. The Law Society of Kenya is the professional body; Senior Counsel is the senior rank.

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.