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.
Select up to six documented jurisdictions
Clear selectionAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzechiaDR CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHoly See (Vatican City)HondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorth KoreaNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRepublic of the CongoRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaSรฃo Tomรฉ and PrรญncipeTajikistanTanzaniaThailandThe BahamasTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamYemenZambiaZimbabwe
| Attribute | ParaguayReviewed | NigerIndexed | RomaniaReviewed | HaitiReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Civil law (French tradition) | Civil law | Civil law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Republic under military-led government | Unitary semi-presidential republic | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Constitution of the Seventh Republic (suspended) | Constitution of Romania | Constitution de la Rรฉpublique d'Haรฏti |
| In force since | 1992 | 2010 | 1991 | 1987 |
| Capital | Asunciรณn | Niamey | Bucharest | Port-au-Prince |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaranรญ | French, Hausa, Zarma | Romanian | French, Haitian Creole |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaranรญ (PYG) | West African CFA franc (XOF) | Romanian leu (RON) | Haitian gourde (HTG) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 26,200,000 | 19,000,000 | 11,600,000 |
| 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 shares executive power with a Government answerable to Parliament, and constitutional conflicts between them are themselves justiciable before the Constitutional Court. | Unitary with constitutionally recognised decentralisation to 10 departments, arrondissements and communes, and to the communal section as the smallest territorial unit. In practice the elected local bodies are largely unfilled and replaced by appointed interim commissions. |
| 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. | A bill goes to a first-notified chamber and then to the decisional chamber, whose vote is final. The President may return it once for reconsideration or refer it to the Constitutional Court before promulgation and publication in Monitorul Oficial. | Under the 1987 Constitution bills pass both chambers and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text once for reconsideration. With Parliament not sitting, measures have been issued as executive decrees since 2020 โ a practice widely criticised as lacking constitutional foundation, and a key reason to check the current status of any recent instrument before relying on it. |
| 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 Guaranรญ are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunciรณn are commonly bilingual. | Avocats admitted through the Barreau du Niger after a law degree and traineeship; notaires and huissiers are separate offices. | Lawyers (avocaศi) are admitted through local bars affiliated to the UNBR after examination and a two-year traineeship; notaries and judicial enforcement officers are separate professions. | Advocates are admitted to one of the departmental bars (Ordre des avocats), most prominently the Port-au-Prince bar, after a law degree and a period of pupillage. Notaries hold a separate public office with exclusive competence over authentic acts including land transfers, which matters greatly given widespread informality in land title. |
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.