Comparison

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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	NigerIndexed	KuwaitReviewed	SomaliaIndexed
Legal family	Civil law (French tradition)	Mixed (civil law and Islamic law)	Pluralist: Islamic, customary and civil law
System of government	Republic under military-led government	Unitary constitutional monarchy	Federal parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Seventh Republic (suspended)	Constitution of the State of Kuwait	Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia
In force since	2010	1962	2012
Capital	Niamey	Kuwait City	Mogadishu
Official languages	French, Hausa, Zarma	Arabic	Somali, Arabic
Currency	West African CFA franc (XOF)	Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)	Somali shilling (SOS)
Population	26,200,000	4,300,000	18,100,000
Division of powers	Under the suspended constitution, a semi-presidential system with a President, Prime Minister and National Assembly. Currently executive and legislative authority is concentrated in the CNSP and an appointed government.	Unitary. Six governorates administered by appointed governors, with no legislative competence.	Federal in form, with member states including Puntland, Jubaland, South West, Hirshabelle and Galmudug. The division of powers was left to be settled by later agreement and remains contested, particularly over revenue and security. Somaliland, in the northwest, does not participate and administers its own institutions.
How law is made	Legislation is currently made by order of the governing authority and published in the Journal Officiel. The suspended constitution provided for ordinary parliamentary passage and presidential promulgation.	Under the constitution as designed, bills passed by the National Assembly required Emiri sanction, and the Emir could return a bill for reconsideration which the Assembly could override by a two-thirds majority. With the Assembly dissolved and the relevant articles suspended since May 2024, legislation is made by Emiri decree on the proposal of the Council of Ministers and published in the Official Gazette (Kuwait Al-Youm).	Bills are introduced by the government or members and passed by the House of the People, with the Upper House participating on matters affecting member states, before presidential assent. Because Article 2 subjects all legislation to consistency with Sharia and no court exists to adjudicate that limit, and because member-state legislation operates in parallel, the effective legislative picture cannot be described as unified.
Legal profession	Avocats admitted through the Barreau du Niger after a law degree and traineeship; notaires and huissiers are separate offices.	Advocacy is reserved to Kuwaiti nationals enrolled with the Ministry of Justice and the Kuwait Bar Association, with foreign lawyers acting as consultants and unable to appear; pleadings are in Arabic. Judges are appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, and a significant proportion of the bench has historically been seconded from other Arab states. Notarial authentication at the Ministry of Justice is required for powers of attorney, property transfers and company formation documents.	Advocates practise through the Somali Bar Association and regional bar associations, with legal education rebuilt through universities in Mogadishu, Hargeisa and elsewhere since the 1990s. Many practitioners work across the formal courts and customary forums, since a client's remedy often lies in the latter. Verified current figures on admission and numbers are not available, which is reflected in this entry's status.

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.