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	LesothoReviewed	MaltaReviewed	SenegalReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Mixed (civil and common law)	Civil law (French tradition)
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of Lesotho	Constitution of Malta	Constitution of the Republic of Senegal
In force since	1992	1993	1964	2001
Capital	Asunción	Maseru	Valletta	Dakar
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Sesotho, English	Maltese, English	French, Wolof, Pulaar, Serer
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Lesotho loti (LSL)	Euro (EUR)	West African CFA franc (XOF)
Population	6,900,000	2,300,000	540,000	17,700,000
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 with ten districts, and a recognised hierarchy of chiefs exercising customary functions over land allocation and local dispute resolution. The Senate includes the twenty-two principal chiefs ex officio.	A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.	A strong executive presidency with a Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, a unicameral National Assembly, and a judiciary in which the Conseil constitutionnel, Cour suprême and Cour des comptes occupy separate apexes.
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 three readings in the National Assembly, go to the Senate for review, and receive royal assent. The Senate can delay but not indefinitely block ordinary bills. Amendments to entrenched constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected clauses, a referendum.	Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.	Bills originate with the government or deputies, are examined in committee and voted in plenary. The President promulgates within the constitutional period or refers the text to the Conseil constitutionnel.
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.	A split profession in form — advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act — though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.	Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.	Avocats are admitted to the Ordre des avocats du Sénégal after a law degree, the CFPA professional course and a traineeship. Notaires and huissiers are separate regulated professions.

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.