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	ParaguayReviewed	ChadIndexed	IraqReviewed	LesothoReviewed	BelizeReviewed	GrenadaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Mixed (French civil law, customary and Islamic law)	Civil law with Islamic law influence	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Common law	Common law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary presidential republic	Federal parliamentary republic	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of the Republic of Chad	Constitution of the Republic of Iraq	Constitution of Lesotho	Belize Constitution	The Grenada Constitution
In force since	1992	2023	2005	1993	1981	1973
Capital	Asunción	N'Djamena	Baghdad	Maseru	Belmopan	Saint George's
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	French, Arabic	Arabic, Kurdish	Sesotho, English	English, Spanish, Belize Kriol, Q'eqchi', Mopan	English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Central African CFA franc (XAF)	Iraqi dinar (IQD)	Lesotho loti (LSL)	Belize dollar (BZD)	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Population	6,900,000	18,300,000	45,500,000	2,300,000	410,000	126,000
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.	Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate under the 2023 text, and a judiciary headed by the Supreme Court.	Genuinely federal in form: 15 governorates not organised into a region, plus the Kurdistan Region, which has its own Parliament, government, judiciary and security forces. Governorates may petition to form new regions. Residual powers lie with the regions and governorates rather than the centre, and regional law prevails over federal law outside the exclusive federal competences — the reverse of the usual federal rule.	Unitary with ten districts, and a recognised hierarchy of chiefs exercising customary functions over land allocation and local dispute resolution. The Senate includes the twenty-two principal chiefs ex officio.	Unitary, with six districts and elected town and village councils. Maya communal land rights in Toledo are recognised through the courts rather than by statute, and implementation is supervised by the CCJ.	Unitary. The state comprises Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Carriacou and Petite Martinique have a Ministry and local administration but no separate legislature.
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 examined in committee and plenary and passed by the legislature, then promulgated by the President. The Constitutional Council may be seised before promulgation.	Bills are proposed by the President with the Council of Ministers, or by ten members or a committee of the Council of Representatives. They pass two readings and a vote, and the President ratifies within fifteen days, after which they are published and take effect. The Federation Council envisaged by the Constitution has never been created, so there is no second chamber in practice.	Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly, go to the Senate for review, and receive royal assent. The Senate can delay but not indefinitely block ordinary bills. Amendments to entrenched constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected clauses, a referendum.	A bill passes three readings in the House of Representatives, then the Senate, and receives the Governor-General's assent. Money bills originate in the House. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority of all House members, and certain entrenched provisions require three-quarters.	Bills pass three readings in both Houses and receive the Governor-General's assent. Constitutional amendments to entrenched provisions need a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and then approval by a referendum, a double lock that has defeated every reform package put to voters.
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.	Avocats admitted through the Ordre des avocats du Tchad; the profession is concentrated in N'Djamena.	Lawyers are admitted by the Iraqi Bar Association under the Advocacy Law, with grades of practice determining which courts a member may appear in — a seniority ladder rather than a single right of audience. The Bar is self-governing and its licence is required for court work. The Kurdistan Region has its own bar association, and the two are administratively distinct, so practitioners generally hold the licence appropriate to where they appear.	A split profession in form — advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act — though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.	A fused profession of attorneys-at-law admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, with the Bar Association of Belize exercising disciplinary functions. Commonwealth qualifications are recognised on application, which keeps a small bar workable.	A fused profession of legal practitioners admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, after a law degree and the Legal Education Certificate. The Grenada Bar Association represents practitioners.

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.