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 | ParaguayReviewed | Cape VerdeReviewed | NamibiaReviewed | MadagascarReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Civil law (Portuguese tradition) | Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law | French civil law with customary law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary semi-presidential republic | Semi-presidential republic | Semi-presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Constitution of the Republic of Cabo Verde | Constitution of the Republic of Namibia | Constitution of the Fourth Republic |
| In force since | 1992 | 1992 | 1990 | 2010 |
| Capital | Asunción | Praia | Windhoek | Antananarivo |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní | Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole | English | Malagasy, French |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaraní (PYG) | Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) | Namibian dollar (NAD) | Malagasy ariary (MGA) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 600,000 | 2,600,000 | 30,300,000 |
| Division of powers | Unitary with seventeen departments and the capital district, each with an elected governor and departmental board holding administrative and limited fiscal competence. Legislative power is national. | Semi-presidential: a directly elected President with limited powers, a Prime Minister accountable to the National Assembly, and an independent judiciary with a separate Constitutional Court. | 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 a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented. |
| How law is made | Bills may start in either chamber and must pass both. The President may object in whole or part; Congress overcomes an objection by absolute majority in both chambers. Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber and ratification by referendum; wholesale reform requires a constituent assembly. | Bills are debated in general and in detail by the National Assembly, voted, then sent to the President for promulgation. The President may veto or request prior constitutional review by the Constitutional Court. | 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. | 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. |
| Legal profession | A law degree and registration of the title with the Supreme Court, which maintains the roll and exercises discipline. Bar membership is voluntary. Because both Spanish and Guaraní are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunción are commonly bilingual. | Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados after a law degree and traineeship; notaries and registrars form separate careers on the Portuguese model. | 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. | 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. |
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.