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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedLesothoReviewedNigerIndexedIranReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed Roman-Dutch and English common lawCivil law (French tradition)Islamic law with civil law codification
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicParliamentary constitutional monarchyRepublic under military-led governmentIslamic republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of LesothoConstitution of the Seventh Republic (suspended)Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
In force since1992199320101979
CapitalAsunciรณnMaseruNiameyTehran
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญSesotho, EnglishFrench, Hausa, ZarmaPersian
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Lesotho loti (LSL)West African CFA franc (XOF)Rial (IRR)
Population6,900,0002,300,00026,200,00089,000,000
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 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.Under the suspended constitution, a semi-presidential system with a President, Prime Minister and National Assembly. Currently executive and legislative authority is concentrated in the CNSP and an appointed government.Unitary, with 31 provinces headed by governors-general appointed by the Interior Ministry, alongside elected city and village councils created by the Constitution and operating since 1999 with limited competences.
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 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.Legislation is currently made by order of the governing authority and published in the Journal Officiel. The suspended constitution provided for ordinary parliamentary passage and presidential promulgation.A bill is introduced by the Government or by at least fifteen deputies, passes the Majlis, and goes to the Guardian Council, which has ten days, extendable, to find it consistent with Islam and the Constitution. If the Council objects, the bill returns for amendment; persistent disagreement goes to the Expediency Discernment Council, whose decision is final. Only then does the President sign and publish.
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 split profession in form โ€” advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act โ€” though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.Avocats admitted through the Barreau du Niger after a law degree and traineeship; notaires and huissiers are separate offices.Two parallel routes to practice, which is unusual and consequential: attorneys licensed by the Iranian Bar Association (Kanoon-e Vokala), a self-governing body dating to 1953, and attorneys licensed under Article 187 of the Third Development Plan directly by the judiciary. The two groups have contested each other's standing for two decades. Notaries operate licensed offices under the registration organisation, and their authentication is required for property transfers, marriage contracts and powers of attorney.

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.