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	SpainReviewed	SurinameReviewed
Legal familyIdentical	Civil law	Civil law	Civil law
System of government	Constitutional hereditary monarchy	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Unitary presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Principality of Monaco	Spanish Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Suriname
In force since	1962	1978	1987
Capital	Monaco	Madrid	Paramaribo
Official languages	French	Spanish	Dutch
Currency	Euro (EUR)	Euro (EUR)	Surinamese dollar (SRD)
Population	39,000	48,400,000	620,000
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.	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, with ten districts headed by appointed district commissioners and elected district councils. Indigenous and Maroon communities in the interior are governed by traditional authorities whose land rights are not yet fully codified, despite repeated Inter-American Court rulings requiring it.
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 both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.	Bills are introduced by the executive or by Assembly members, debated and passed by a simple majority of the 51-member Assembly, then ratified and promulgated by the President. Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority of the Assembly. Because the Assembly also elects the President, executive and legislature are closely fused.
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.	Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.	Qualification is by a Surinamese law degree from the Anton de Kom University followed by admission as an advocaat by the Hof van Justitie and enrolment in the Surinaamse Orde van Advocaten. Practice is conducted in Dutch, so foreign parties should budget for sworn translation; notarissen hold exclusive competence over conveyancing and company deeds.

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.