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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeParaguayReviewedGrenadaReviewedMyanmarReviewedChinaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCommon lawCommon law with codified statutesSocialist civil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicConstitutional monarchyMilitary administration; constitutional order suspendedSocialist one-party republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayThe Grenada ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of the Union of MyanmarConstitution of the People's Republic of China
In force since1992197320081982
CapitalAsunciรณnSaint George'sNaypyidawBeijing
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglishBurmeseStandard Chinese (Putonghua)
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)East Caribbean dollar (XCD)Kyat (MMK)Renminbi (CNY)
Population6,900,000126,00054,500,0001,410,000,000
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. The state comprises Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Carriacou and Petite Martinique have a Ministry and local administration but no separate legislature.Nominally a union of seven regions, seven states, one union territory and six self-administered zones and divisions, each with its own legislature under the 2008 Constitution. In practice the region and state legislatures are suspended or subordinated to the military administration, and chief ministers are appointed centrally.Unitary, with a highly asymmetric structure: 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly administered municipalities and two special administrative regions. Hong Kong and Macao operate under 'one country, two systems' with their own Basic Laws, their own courts of final appeal, and legal systems that remain common-law and Portuguese-derived civil-law respectively. Provincial people's congresses may enact local regulations that must not contravene national law.
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 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.Under the 2008 Constitution, bills passed both chambers and went to the President, with disagreements resolved in joint sitting. Since February 2021 legislation is made by the State Administration Council as law or order, published in the Gazette without legislative passage, and a series of such instruments has amended the Penal Code, the electronic communications law and the criminal procedure code.The NPC meets in plenary once a year, so the Standing Committee enacts most legislation. A bill is normally read three times under the Legislation Law, with drafts published for public comment โ€” the Civil Code drafts drew over a million submissions. The NPCSC also has power to interpret laws, which it exercises as a substantive lawmaking tool. There is no presidential veto: the President promulgates what the NPC or its Standing Committee has passed.
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 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.Advocates and higher-grade pleaders are admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act 1879 and the Bar Council Act 1929, an inherited colonial framework, with the Supreme Court controlling the roll. Independent bar associations formed after 2011 but the Bar Council has long been closely supervised, and lawyers acting in political cases have themselves faced prosecution and disbarment since 2021. Legal aid exists under the Legal Aid Law 2016 but is thinly resourced.Lawyers are licensed under the Lawyers Law after passing the National Unified Legal Profession Qualification Examination, which since 2018 has also been the common entry route for judges, prosecutors and notaries. Firms are licensed and subject to annual inspection by provincial justice departments, and membership of the All China Lawyers Association is mandatory. A 2012 amendment to the Lawyers Law requires an oath that includes loyalty to the leadership of the Communist Party, and the annual licence renewal is the principal point of leverage over practitioners in politically sensitive work.

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.