Comparison

Read two legal systems against each other

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
Attribute	ParaguayReviewed	NigerIndexed	DR CongoReviewed	NauruReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law (French tradition)	Civil law (Belgian tradition)	Common law with customary law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Republic under military-led government	Unitary semi-presidential republic	Parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of the Seventh Republic (suspended)	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Constitution of Nauru
In force since	1992	2010	2006	1968
Capital	Asunción	Niamey	Kinshasa	Yaren (seat of government)
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	French, Hausa, Zarma	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba	Nauruan, English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	West African CFA franc (XOF)	Congolese Franc (CDF)	Australian dollar (AUD)
Population	6,900,000	26,200,000	102,300,000	12,500
Division of powers	Unitary 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.	Under the suspended constitution, a semi-presidential system with a President, Prime Minister and National Assembly. Currently executive and legislative authority is concentrated in the CNSP and an appointed government.	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 and highly centralised — Nauru has no second tier of general government. The Nauru Island Council was abolished in 1999, so the state deals directly with citizens, though the 14 districts remain the basis for parliamentary constituencies and the twelve tribes retain social significance in land and title questions.
How law is made	Bills 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.	Legislation is currently made by order of the governing authority and published in the Journal Officiel. The suspended constitution provided for ordinary parliamentary passage and presidential promulgation.	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 receive three readings in the 19-member chamber and are assented to by the President. Ordinary legislation needs a simple majority, but the entrenched provisions of Part XI require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected articles, approval at a referendum — the barrier that defeated the 2010 reform proposals.
Legal profession	A 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 Guaraní are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunción are commonly bilingual.	Avocats admitted through the Barreau du Niger after a law degree and traineeship; notaires and huissiers are separate offices.	Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.	A very small fused profession admitted by the Supreme Court under the Legal Practitioners Act 1973, supplemented by pleaders — non-lawyers licensed to appear in the District Court and before the Lands Committee, a practical necessity given the number of resident lawyers. Judicial officers are frequently appointed from Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere in the Pacific.

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 — the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.