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Comparison of selected legal systems
Attribute	ParaguayReviewed	LibyaIndexed	YemenReviewed	DR CongoReviewed	BelizeReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law with Islamic law as a source	Mixed (Islamic law and civil law)	Civil law (Belgian tradition)	Common law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Provisional government with contested authority	Republic with contested authority	Unitary semi-presidential republic	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitutional Declaration (interim)	Constitution of the Republic of Yemen	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Belize Constitution
In force since	1992	2011	1991	2006	1981
Capital	Asunción	Tripoli	Sana'a (constitutional); Aden (interim seat of government)	Kinshasa	Belmopan
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Arabic	Arabic	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba	English, Spanish, Belize Kriol, Q'eqchi', Mopan
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Libyan dinar (LYD)	Yemeni rial (YER)	Congolese Franc (CDF)	Belize dollar (BZD)
Population	6,900,000	6,900,000	34,400,000	102,300,000	410,000
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.	Nominally unitary with governorates and municipalities. In practice authority is divided between competing administrations and local armed actors, and municipal councils have in many places become the most functional layer of government.	Nominally unitary with twenty-two governorates and appointed governors, and a 2000 local authority law providing for elected local councils. In practice territorial control is divided between rival authorities, and the 2015 draft federal constitution proposing six regions was never adopted.	Semi-presidential: a directly elected President, a Prime Minister from the parliamentary majority, and a bicameral Parliament. The 2006 constitution split the former Supreme Court into three separate apex courts.	Unitary, with six districts and elected town and village councils. Maya communal land rights in Toledo are recognised through the courts rather than by statute, and implementation is supervised by the CCJ.
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.	There is no single functioning legislative process. The House of Representatives passes laws that the High Council of State contests, and the rival administrations issue decrees within their areas of control. Whether a given instrument is law therefore depends on which authority is recognised, which is exactly why this profile is marked as requiring research rather than described as settled.	Under the constitution, bills are passed by the House of Representatives and ratified by the head of state, with publication in the Official Gazette. Since 2014 this process has not operated normally: the recognised government legislates largely by decree from Aden, and the Houthi authorities issue their own instruments in the areas they control. Determining the applicable rule in a given place and period is a factual question, not merely a legal one.	Bills pass both chambers; persistent disagreement is resolved by a joint commission or a final National Assembly vote. The President promulgates within the constitutional period, and the Constitutional Court may be seised beforehand.	A bill passes three readings in the House of Representatives, then the Senate, and receives the Governor-General's assent. Money bills originate in the House. Constitutional amendments need a two-thirds majority of all House members, and certain entrenched provisions require three-quarters.
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.	Advocates are admitted through the Libyan Bar Association, and the profession has continued to function, including in human-rights litigation, despite serious risks to practitioners. Judicial appointments run through the Supreme Judicial Council. Reliable current information on admission requirements and numbers is limited, which is reflected in the verification status of this entry.	Advocates are licensed under the Advocacy Law and organised in the Yemeni Bar Association, which has continued to operate and to make representations about judicial independence throughout the conflict. Judges are trained at the High Judicial Institute and appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, but appointments made by rival authorities since 2014 are not mutually recognised. Legal aid is minimal and provided mainly by non-governmental organisations.	Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.	A fused profession of attorneys-at-law admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, with the Bar Association of Belize exercising disciplinary functions. Commonwealth qualifications are recognised on application, which keeps a small bar workable.

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.