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	NauruReviewed	MaltaReviewed	TongaReviewed
Legal family	Common law with customary law	Mixed (civil and common law)	Common law with customary law
System of government	Parliamentary republic	Unitary parliamentary republic	Constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of Nauru	Constitution of Malta	Act of Constitution of Tonga
In force since	1968	1964	1875
Capital	Yaren (seat of government)	Valletta	Nuku'alofa
Official languages	Nauruan, English	Maltese, English	Tongan, English
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)	Euro (EUR)	Tongan paʻanga (TOP)
Population	12,500	540,000	105,000
Division of powers	Unitary and highly centralised — Nauru has no second tier of general government. The Nauru Island Council was abolished in 1999, so the state deals directly with citizens, though the 14 districts remain the basis for parliamentary constituencies and the twelve tribes retain social significance in land and title questions.	A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.	Unitary. The Legislative Assembly legislates for the whole kingdom, and the island divisions of Tongatapu, Vava'u, Ha'apai, 'Eua and the Niuas are administrative districts headed by governors. Below that, town and district officers are elected under the Fakafekau'aki and District and Town Officers Act.
How law is made	Bills receive three readings in the 19-member chamber and are assented to by the President. Ordinary legislation needs a simple majority, but the entrenched provisions of Part XI require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected articles, approval at a referendum — the barrier that defeated the 2010 reform proposals.	Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.	Bills pass three readings in the Legislative Assembly and require the King's assent, which is a real rather than purely formal step. Ordinary bills need a simple majority. Amendments to the Constitution require a majority in the Assembly at three separate readings and the consent of the King and Privy Council, and clause 79 forbids any amendment affecting the law of liberty, the succession to the throne or the titles and hereditary estates of the nobles.
Legal profession	A very small fused profession admitted by the Supreme Court under the Legal Practitioners Act 1973, supplemented by pleaders — non-lawyers licensed to appear in the District Court and before the Lands Committee, a practical necessity given the number of resident lawyers. Judicial officers are frequently appointed from Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere in the Pacific.	Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.	Law practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice and licensed under the Law Practitioners Act, with the Tonga Law Society as the professional body. Most qualify overseas or at the University of the South Pacific. A practitioner working on land must know the Land Act's allotment system rather than general property law, because the constitutional bar on selling land means conveyancing in the ordinary sense does not exist.

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.