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	PanamaReviewed	GrenadaReviewed	NamibiaReviewed	DR CongoReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law	Common law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Civil law (Belgian tradition)
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary presidential republic	Constitutional monarchy	Semi-presidential republic	Unitary semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama	The Grenada Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Namibia	Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
In force since	1992	1972	1973	1990	2006
Capital	Asunción	Panama City	Saint George's	Windhoek	Kinshasa
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Spanish	English	English	French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Balboa (US dollar in circulation) (PAB)	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)	Namibian dollar (NAD)	Congolese Franc (CDF)
Population	6,900,000	4,400,000	126,000	2,600,000	102,300,000
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.	Unitary, with ten provinces and five indigenous comarcas. The comarcas — Guna Yala, Emberá-Wounaan, Ngäbe-Buglé, Guna de Madugandí and Guna de Wargandí — hold recognised collective land title and internal authority.	Unitary. The state comprises Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Carriacou and Petite Martinique have a Ministry and local administration but no separate legislature.	Unitary with 14 administrative regions and elected regional councils, which also constitute the National Council, the upper chamber. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over communal land and customary law.	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.
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.	Bills receive three debates in the National Assembly. The President may object in whole or in part; the Assembly insists with a two-thirds vote, after which the President must promulgate unless the objection was constitutional, in which case the Supreme Court decides.	Bills pass three readings in both Houses and receive the Governor-General's assent. Constitutional amendments to entrenched provisions need a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and then approval by a referendum, a double lock that has defeated every reform package put to voters.	Bills pass the National Assembly through three readings, then go to the National Council for review. The Council may confirm, propose amendments, or object; the Assembly can override an objection by a two-thirds majority. The President then assents, and constitutional amendments require two-thirds of both chambers and may never diminish the rights chapter.	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.
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.	Practice requires a Panamanian law degree and a licence from the Supreme Court; the Colegio Nacional de Abogados is influential but membership is voluntary. Only Panamanian lawyers may appear in court, which is why offshore work is routinely structured through local counsel.	A fused profession of legal practitioners admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, after a law degree and the Legal Education Certificate. The Grenada Bar Association represents practitioners.	A fused profession under the Legal Practitioners Act: a single class of legal practitioner is admitted after a law degree and the Justice Training Centre's postgraduate course, and the Law Society of Namibia regulates practice.	Avocats admitted to provincial bars under the national Ordre des avocats after a law degree and traineeship; défenseurs judiciaires assist in lower courts.

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.