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Comparison of selected legal systems
AttributeParaguayReviewedMicronesiaReviewedDenmarkReviewedSomaliaIndexed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed common law with customary lawCivil law (Nordic)Pluralist: Islamic, customary and civil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicFederal republic in free association with the United StatesConstitutional monarchyFederal parliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Federated States of MicronesiaConstitutional Act of Denmark (Grundloven)Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia
In force since1992197919532012
CapitalAsunciรณnPalikirCopenhagenMogadishu
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglish, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, KosraeanDanishSomali, Arabic
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)United States dollar (USD)Danish krone (DKK)Somali shilling (SOS)
Population6,900,000115,0005,900,00018,100,000
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.Genuine federalism. The national government holds foreign affairs, defence, immigration, currency and interstate commerce; everything else, including land tenure, is state or local. Each state has its own constitution and supreme court, and Yap's constitution creates Councils of Pilung and Tamol โ€” traditional leaders' councils with power to disapprove state legislation affecting tradition and custom.Parliamentary government in which the cabinet is drawn from and answerable to the Folketing, with an independent unified judiciary.Federal in form, with member states including Puntland, Jubaland, South West, Hirshabelle and Galmudug. The division of powers was left to be settled by later agreement and remains contested, particularly over revenue and security. Somaliland, in the northwest, does not participate and administers its own institutions.
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 Congress and are signed by the President, who has a veto that Congress may override. Because the four at-large senators serve longer terms and are the pool from which the President is drawn, national politics is structured around balancing the states rather than around parties โ€” there are no formal political parties. Constitutional amendments may be proposed by Congress, by a convention, or by popular initiative, and require ratification by three-quarters of the voters in three of the four states.Bills pass three readings in the Folketing and receive royal assent. A minority of members can require certain bills to be put to a referendum.Bills are introduced by the government or members and passed by the House of the People, with the Upper House participating on matters affecting member states, before presidential assent. Because Article 2 subjects all legislation to consistency with Sharia and no court exists to adjudicate that limit, and because member-state legislation operates in parallel, the effective legislative picture cannot be described as unified.
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.Admission is to the FSM Supreme Court, with rules that recognise foreign qualifications, so many practitioners trained in the United States. A distinctive feature is the trial counselor: a non-lawyer licensed to appear in certain courts after examination, which is how most representation is delivered outside the main centres. Practitioners must often hold admission both nationally and in the relevant state.A single advokat profession admitted after a law degree, practical training and a bar course; judges are appointed from experienced lawyers.Advocates practise through the Somali Bar Association and regional bar associations, with legal education rebuilt through universities in Mogadishu, Hargeisa and elsewhere since the 1990s. Many practitioners work across the formal courts and customary forums, since a client's remedy often lies in the latter. Verified current figures on admission and numbers are not available, which is reflected in this entry's status.

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.