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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedMicronesiaReviewedSpainReviewedAustriaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed common law with customary lawCivil lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicFederal republic in free association with the United StatesUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchyFederal parliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Federated States of MicronesiaSpanish ConstitutionBundes-Verfassungsgesetz (B-VG)
In force since1992197919781920
CapitalAsunciรณnPalikirMadridVienna
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglish, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, KosraeanSpanishGerman
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)United States dollar (USD)Euro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
Population6,900,000115,00048,400,0009,100,000
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.A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government.Nine Lรคnder hold their own constitutions, parliaments and governments, but the federation retains far more legislative power than in Germany or Switzerland; much Lรคnder activity is administering federal law (mittelbare Bundesverwaltung). Three separate high courts sit at the apex, for constitutional, administrative and ordinary matters respectively.
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 both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.Bills originate with the government, members of the Nationalrat, the Bundesrat or a popular initiative, and pass three readings in the Nationalrat. The Bundesrat may object but can normally be overridden. The Federal President authenticates the law, the Chancellor countersigns, and it is published in the Bundesgesetzblatt.
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.Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.A Rechtsanwalt qualifies through a law degree, five years of practical training including at least three in a law firm and some months at court, and the bar examination. Admission is via the regional bar chambers under the umbrella of the ร–sterreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag. Notaries are a separate profession with appointments limited in number.

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.