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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedFijiReviewedJapanReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCommon law with customary lawCivil law with common-law influence
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Republic of FijiConstitution of Japan
In force since199220131947
CapitalAsunciรณnSuvaTokyo
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglish, Fijian, Fiji HindiJapanese
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Fijian dollar (FJD)Japanese Yen (JPY)
Population6,900,000930,000123,500,000
Division of powersUnitary 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 and deliberately centralised. Section 1 declares Fiji a sovereign state whose Parliament legislates for the whole country; there are no provinces with legislative power. The 14 provincial councils and the iTaukei Affairs Board administer indigenous affairs under the iTaukei Affairs Act. Rotuma has a distinct status under the Rotuma Act.Parliamentary government with the Cabinet collectively responsible to the Diet, and a Supreme Court holding the final power of constitutional review.
How law is madeBills 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 introduced in the unicameral Parliament, referred to a standing committee, and pass through second reading, committee and third reading before assent by the President. There is no upper house. A constitutional amendment requires the support of three-quarters of all members of Parliament and then approval by three-quarters of registered voters at a referendum, a threshold that has never been met.Most bills are Cabinet-sponsored, drafted by ministries and reviewed by the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, then passed by both houses; the lower house can override the upper by a two-thirds majority.
Legal professionA 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 Guaranรญ are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunciรณn are commonly bilingual.A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act 2009: practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice as barristers and solicitors. Most qualify through the University of the South Pacific law degree followed by the Professional Diploma in Legal Practice. Admission and discipline are handled by the Chief Registrar and the Independent Legal Services Commission rather than by the Fiji Law Society, which is a voluntary professional body.Candidates pass the national bar examination, then complete a year at the Legal Training and Research Institute before qualifying as bengoshi, judge or prosecutor.

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 โ€” the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.