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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedMauritiusReviewedIranReviewedGrenadaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed French civil law and English common lawIslamic law with civil law codificationCommon law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicParliamentary republicIslamic republicConstitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of MauritiusConstitution of the Islamic Republic of IranThe Grenada Constitution
In force since1992196819791973
CapitalAsunciรณnPort LouisTehranSaint George's
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglish, French, Mauritian CreolePersianEnglish
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Mauritian rupee (MUR)Rial (IRR)East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Population6,900,0001,260,00089,000,000126,000
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.Unitary, with Rodrigues holding a statutory autonomous status and its own Regional Assembly, and Agalega and St Brandon administered as outer islands.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.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 pass three readings in the National Assembly with committee scrutiny and receive presidential assent. Constitutional amendments require a three-quarters majority, and certain entrenched provisions โ€” including the electoral and 'best loser' arrangements โ€” require both a three-quarters majority and, for some, a referendum.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.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.A three-branch profession unusual in the region: barristers hold rights of audience, attorneys handle procedure and instruct barristers, and notaries deal with conveyancing and authenticated instruments under the civil-law tradition.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 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.