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	ParaguayReviewed	DR CongoReviewed	BelizeReviewed	MadagascarReviewed	NamibiaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law (Belgian tradition)	Common law	French civil law with customary law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary semi-presidential republic	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Semi-presidential republic	Semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Belize Constitution	Constitution of the Fourth Republic	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia
In force since	1992	2006	1981	2010	1990
Capital	Asunción	Kinshasa	Belmopan	Antananarivo	Windhoek
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba	English, Spanish, Belize Kriol, Q'eqchi', Mopan	Malagasy, French	English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Congolese Franc (CDF)	Belize dollar (BZD)	Malagasy ariary (MGA)	Namibian dollar (NAD)
Population	6,900,000	102,300,000	410,000	30,300,000	2,600,000
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, a Prime Minister from the parliamentary majority, and a bicameral Parliament. The 2006 constitution split the former Supreme Court into three separate apex courts.	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 with a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented.	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.
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 pass both chambers; persistent disagreement is resolved by a joint commission or a final National Assembly vote. The President promulgates within the constitutional period, and the Constitutional Court may be seised beforehand.	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 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.	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.
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 to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.	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.	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 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.

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.