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.
Select up to six documented jurisdictions
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| Attribute | MoroccoReviewed | MadagascarReviewed | UgandaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law with Islamic law in personal status | French civil law with customary law | Mixed (common law and customary law) |
| System of government | Constitutional monarchy | Semi-presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco | Constitution of the Fourth Republic | Constitution of the Republic of Uganda |
| In force since | 2011 | 2010 | 1995 |
| Capital | Rabat | Antananarivo | Kampala |
| Official languages | Arabic, Tamazight | Malagasy, French | English, Swahili, Luganda |
| Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | Malagasy ariary (MGA) | Ugandan Shilling (UGX) |
| Population | 37,500,000 | 30,300,000 | 48,600,000 |
| Division of powers | 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. | Unitary with a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented. | Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a unicameral Parliament, and a judiciary in which the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal (sitting also as the Constitutional Court) and High Court form the superior courts. |
| How law is made | 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. | Bills originate with the government or members of either chamber, are examined in committee, and must pass both the National Assembly and the Senate; the Assembly prevails on disagreement. The Haute Cour Constitutionnelle may review a law before promulgation, and organic laws must be referred to it as a matter of course. | Bills receive three readings with committee scrutiny; certificates of financial implication are required for money bills. The President assents, returns the bill twice with recommendations, or it becomes law if passed a third time by two-thirds. |
| Legal profession | 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 — 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 Supérieur de la Magistrature. | Avocats admitted to the Ordre des avocats de Madagascar after a law degree and professional training, alongside notaires for authenticated instruments and huissiers for service and enforcement — the standard French division of functions. | Fused; an LLB, the Law Development Centre post-graduate diploma and enrolment admit an advocate. The Uganda Law Society is the professional body. |
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.