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 | NamibiaReviewed | HaitiReviewed | MozambiqueReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law | Civil law | Civil law (Portuguese tradition) |
| System of government | Semi-presidential republic | Unitary semi-presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Namibia | Constitution de la République d'Haïti | Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique |
| In force since | 1990 | 1987 | 2004 |
| Capital | Windhoek | Port-au-Prince | Maputo |
| Official languages | English | French, Haitian Creole | Portuguese, Makhuwa, Changana |
| Currency | Namibian dollar (NAD) | Haitian gourde (HTG) | Metical (MZN) |
| Population | 2,600,000 | 11,600,000 | 33,900,000 |
| Division of powers | 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. | Unitary with constitutionally recognised decentralisation to 10 departments, arrondissements and communes, and to the communal section as the smallest territorial unit. In practice the elected local bodies are largely unfilled and replaced by appointed interim commissions. | Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a unicameral Assembly of the Republic, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court with a separate Constitutional Council and Administrative Court. |
| How law is made | 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. | Under the 1987 Constitution bills pass both chambers and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text once for reconsideration. With Parliament not sitting, measures have been issued as executive decrees since 2020 — a practice widely criticised as lacking constitutional foundation, and a key reason to check the current status of any recent instrument before relying on it. | Bills are debated and voted by the Assembly of the Republic, then promulgated by the President, who may request constitutional review by the Constitutional Council before promulgation. |
| Legal profession | 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. | Advocates are admitted to one of the departmental bars (Ordre des avocats), most prominently the Port-au-Prince bar, after a law degree and a period of pupillage. Notaries hold a separate public office with exclusive competence over authentic acts including land transfers, which matters greatly given widespread informality in land title. | Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados de Moçambique after a law degree and traineeship; técnicos jurídicos 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.