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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| Attribute | ParaguayReviewed | MalaysiaReviewed | ComorosReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Mixed common law and Islamic law | Mixed French civil law and Islamic law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Federal constitutional monarchy | Federal presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Federal Constitution of Malaysia | Constitution of the Union of the Comoros |
| In force since | 1992 | 1957 | 2001 |
| Capital | Asunciรณn | Kuala Lumpur | Moroni |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaranรญ | Malay, English | Comorian, Arabic, French |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaranรญ (PYG) | Malaysian ringgit (MYR) | Comorian franc (KMF) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 34,100,000 | 850,000 |
| 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. | Federal, with 13 states and three federal territories. The Ninth Schedule sets out Federal, State and Concurrent Lists: land, Islamic law, Malay custom and local government are state matters, while trade, finance, defence and civil and criminal law are federal. Sabah and Sarawak hold additional competences โ immigration, native customary land, and their own High Court โ reflecting the terms on which they joined. | Federal. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohรฉli each have a governor and their own assembly with substantial autonomy over local administration, while the Union handles defence, currency, foreign affairs and nationality. |
| 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 both houses; the Dewan Negara can delay but not block, and money bills originate in the Dewan Rakyat. Royal assent is required and, since a 1994 amendment, is deemed given after 30 days if withheld. Amendments affecting the rulers, the special position of the Malays, citizenship or the position of Sabah and Sarawak require additional consents beyond the two-thirds majority. | Bills originate with the government or members of the Assembly of the Union, are examined in committee and passed by the Assembly, then promulgated by the President. Matters within island competence are legislated by the island assemblies, and disputes over the boundary between Union and island competence are a standing feature of Comorian constitutional practice. |
| 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 Guaranรญ are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunciรณn are commonly bilingual. | A fused profession of advocates and solicitors, but regulated separately by territory: the Malaysian Bar under the Legal Profession Act 1976 for Peninsular Malaysia, the Sabah Law Society, and the Advocates Association of Sarawak. Admission requires a recognised law degree or the Certificate in Legal Practice, pupillage of nine months, and admission by the High Court. Syariah practitioners are separately admitted by state Syariah authorities and require Syariah law qualifications. | A small bar of avocats admitted after French-model legal training, supplemented by qadis who require religious-law qualification for the personal-status jurisdiction; many practitioners train in France or Madagascar. |
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.