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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedPortugalReviewedColombiaReviewed
Legal familyIdenticalCivil lawCivil lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary semi-presidential republicUnitary presidential republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Portuguese RepublicPolitical Constitution of Colombia
In force since199219761991
CapitalAsunciรณnLisbonBogotรก
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญPortugueseSpanish
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Euro (EUR)Colombian peso (COP)
Population6,900,00010,400,00052,100,000
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.A semi-presidential republic in which a directly elected President, a Government answerable to parliament and an independent judiciary share power, with a Constitutional Court guarding the constitution.Unitary but markedly decentralised. Thirty-two departments and the Capital District have elected governors, mayors and assemblies with taxing and spending powers, and indigenous territories exercise their own jurisdiction under Article 246, but legislative competence stays with the national Congress.
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.Laws are passed by the Assembly of the Republic and promulgated by the President, who may veto a bill or refer it to the Constitutional Court.Bills need four debates, two in each chamber, in successive committee and plenary stages within a single legislature. Statutory laws on rights must clear the Constitutional Court before promulgation. Amendments proceed by act of Congress over two consecutive ordinary sessions, by referendum, or by constituent assembly; the Court may strike an amendment down for substituting the Constitution rather than reforming it.
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.Advogados belong to the Ordem dos Advogados; solicitadores and notaries handle registration and authentication of deeds and companies.A five-year degree, a period of practice or a monograph, and a professional card (tarjeta profesional) issued by the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura, which also disciplines lawyers. Advocacy in most matters requires a licensed abogado, but the tutela is a deliberate exception: it may be filed by anyone, in writing or orally, without a lawyer.

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.