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	CubaReviewed	SpainReviewed	SamoaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Socialist civil law	Civil law	Common law with customary law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	One-party socialist republic	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Unitary parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitución de la República de Cuba	Spanish Constitution	Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa
In force since	1992	2019	1978	1962
Capital	Asunción	Havana	Madrid	Apia
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Spanish	Spanish	Samoan, English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Cuban peso (CUP)	Euro (EUR)	Samoan tālā (WST)
Population	6,900,000	11,200,000	48,400,000	220,000
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.	Unitary, organised on the principle of a single system of state power. The 2019 Constitution and the 2019 territorial reform recognise 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, with provincial governors appointed on the President's nomination.	A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government.	Unitary. Parliament legislates for the whole country. Below it, about 250 villages govern themselves through the village fono (council of matai) under the Village Fono Act 1990, which gives customary village authority statutory recognition — a genuine layer of local government rather than a delegation of central power.
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.	Legislative initiative lies with deputies, the Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the courts, the Prosecutor General, mass organisations and 10,000 citizens by popular initiative. The Assembly meets in short ordinary sessions, so much law is made by decree-law of the Council of State and subsequently ratified. Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the Assembly, and a referendum for provisions on the political system or rights.	Bills pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.	Bills are read three times in the Legislative Assembly, usually with parliamentary committee scrutiny, and are then assented to by the O le Ao o le Malo. Ordinary bills need a simple majority. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of all members at the third reading, and any amendment affecting customary land or matai titles is politically entrenched by the strength of the fa'a Samoa consensus even where the two-thirds threshold is met.
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.	Practising litigators generally work through the Organización Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos, a self-financing national body of collective law offices; independent private practice is not a recognised route. Membership of the Unión Nacional de Juristas de Cuba is the professional association. Notarial functions are performed by state notaries.	Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.	A fused profession under the Lawyers and Legal Practice Act 2014: lawyers are admitted by the Supreme Court and must hold a practising certificate from the Samoa Law Society. Most qualify at the University of the South Pacific or in New Zealand. Practice before the Land and Titles Court is different in character from ordinary litigation, because the issues are matai genealogy and customary entitlement rather than statutory or common-law rights.

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.