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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedGrenadaReviewedPhilippinesReviewedAustriaReviewedUruguayReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCommon lawMixed civil and common lawCivil lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicConstitutional monarchyUnitary presidential republicFederal parliamentary republicUnitary presidential republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayThe Grenada ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of the PhilippinesBundes-Verfassungsgesetz (B-VG)Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
In force since19921973198719201967
CapitalAsunciรณnSaint George'sManilaViennaMontevideo
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglishFilipino, EnglishGermanSpanish
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)East Caribbean dollar (XCD)Philippine peso (PHP)Euro (EUR)Uruguayan peso (UYU)
Population6,900,000126,000114,000,0009,100,0003,400,000
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.Unitary but with a constitutionally mandated Local Government Code devolving substantial powers, and one autonomous region: the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, created in 2019 under the Bangsamoro Organic Law with its own parliament and its own Syariah justice system.Nine Lรคnder hold their own constitutions, parliaments and governments, but the federation retains far more legislative power than in Germany or Switzerland; much Lรคnder activity is administering federal law (mittelbare Bundesverwaltung). Three separate high courts sit at the apex, for constitutional, administrative and ordinary matters respectively.Unitary. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly.
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.A bill passes three readings in each chamber, is reconciled in a bicameral conference committee, and goes to the President, who may veto it in whole or โ€” uniquely for appropriation, revenue and tariff bills โ€” line by line. Congress may override by two-thirds of each house voting separately. The Constitution also reserves a people's initiative for amendments, though the enabling machinery has repeatedly been held inadequate.Bills originate with the government, members of the Nationalrat, the Bundesrat or a popular initiative, and pass three readings in the Nationalrat. The Bundesrat may object but can normally be overridden. The Federal President authenticates the law, the Chancellor countersigns, and it is published in the Bundesgesetzblatt.Bills pass both chambers; disagreement is resolved by the General Assembly sitting jointly. The executive may veto, overcome by three-fifths of the joint assembly. Distinctively, 25% of registered voters can force a referendum to repeal a statute within one year of promulgation, and 10% can initiate a constitutional plebiscite.
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.A single fused profession of attorneys admitted to the Philippine Bar by the Supreme Court itself, which controls admission, discipline and the rules of practice โ€” a power the Constitution assigns to the Court rather than to the executive or a bar council. Candidates complete a four-year law degree and sit the Bar Examinations, historically among the hardest in Asia with pass rates often under 25 per cent. All lawyers belong to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Court has imposed mandatory continuing legal education since 2000.A Rechtsanwalt qualifies through a law degree, five years of practical training including at least three in a law firm and some months at court, and the bar examination. Admission is via the regional bar chambers under the umbrella of the ร–sterreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag. Notaries are a separate profession with appointments limited in number.A degree from the Universidad de la Repรบblica or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos pรบblicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing.

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.