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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedMonacoReviewedLithuaniaReviewedUruguayReviewedSpainReviewed
Legal familyIdenticalCivil lawCivil lawCivil lawCivil lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicConstitutional hereditary monarchyUnitary semi-presidential republicUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Principality of MonacoConstitution of the Republic of LithuaniaConstitution of the Oriental Republic of UruguaySpanish Constitution
In force since19921962199219671978
CapitalAsunciรณnMonacoVilniusMontevideoMadrid
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญFrenchLithuanianSpanishSpanish
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Euro (EUR)Euro (EUR)Uruguayan peso (UYU)Euro (EUR)
Population6,900,00039,0002,860,0003,400,00048,400,000
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 unitary state of about two square kilometres with a single commune. Legislative power is exercised jointly by the Prince and the National Council; executive power belongs to the Prince, exercised through the Minister of State and the Government Council; judicial power is delegated by the Prince to the courts, with the Tribunal Suprรชme acting as both constitutional and supreme administrative court.Semi-presidential government with a directly elected President focused on foreign and security policy, a Government answerable to the Seimas, and a separate Constitutional Court.Unitary. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly.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.
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.A bill may be initiated by the Prince or proposed by the National Council. Government bills are laid before the Council, examined in committee and voted; adoption requires the agreement of both the Prince and the Council. The Prince then promulgates the law by sovereign ordinance and it is published in the Journal de Monaco.Bills are adopted by the Seimas and signed by the President, who may veto and return a bill for reconsideration.Bills pass both chambers; disagreement is resolved by the General Assembly sitting jointly. The executive may veto, overcome by three-fifths of the joint assembly. Distinctively, 25% of registered voters can force a referendum to repeal a statute within one year of promulgation, and 10% can initiate a constitutional plebiscite.Bills pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.
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 small bar of avocats-dรฉfenseurs, avocats and avocats stagiaires, organised as the Ordre des Avocats, with admission requiring Monegasque nationality preference, a law degree and a traineeship. French avocats may appear in specified circumstances. Notaries are appointed by sovereign ordinance and are few in number.Advocates belong to the Lithuanian Bar Association; notaries handle property, company and succession formalities.A degree from the Universidad de la Repรบblica or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos pรบblicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing.Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.

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.