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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedMaltaReviewedDR CongoReviewedBotswanaReviewedGrenadaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed (civil and common law)Civil law (Belgian tradition)Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common lawCommon law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary republicUnitary semi-presidential republicParliamentary republicConstitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of MaltaConstitution of the Democratic Republic of the CongoConstitution of BotswanaThe Grenada Constitution
In force since19921964200619661973
CapitalAsunciรณnVallettaKinshasaGaboroneSaint George's
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญMaltese, EnglishFrench, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, TshilubaEnglish, SetswanaEnglish
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Euro (EUR)Congolese Franc (CDF)Botswana pula (BWP)East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Population6,900,000540,000102,300,0002,680,000126,000
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.A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.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. Districts and sub-districts administer central policy, and the House of Chiefs (Ntlo ya Dikgosi) is an advisory chamber that must be consulted on bills affecting customary law, tribal organisation and tribal property.Unitary. The state comprises Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Carriacou and Petite Martinique have a Ministry and local administration but no separate legislature.
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 are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.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.Bills are introduced in the National Assembly, take three readings with committee scrutiny between the second and third, and go to the President for assent. Bills affecting customary law, tribal property or the organisation of the tribes must first be referred to the Ntlo ya Dikgosi for its opinion, though that opinion does not bind the 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.
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.Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; dรฉfenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.A fused profession of attorneys admitted by the High Court after a recognised law degree and articles of pupillage; there is no split between advocates and attorneys, and the Law Society of Botswana regulates practice.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 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.