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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedSerbiaReviewedVanuatuReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCivil lawMixed common, civil and customary law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary republicUnitary parliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Republic of SerbiaConstitution of the Republic of Vanuatu
In force since199220061980
CapitalAsunciรณnBelgradePort Vila
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญSerbianBislama, English, French
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Serbian dinar (RSD)Vanuatu vatu (VUV)
Population6,900,0006,600,000330,000
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 parliamentary republic with a directly elected President, a Government answerable to the National Assembly and an independent judiciary overseen by a reformed High Judicial Council.Unitary with decentralised administration. Six provinces โ€” Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba โ€” have councils under the Decentralisation Act with delegated functions. Custom land management is decentralised much further, to area-level Custom Land Tribunals and nakamal-based decision-making under the Custom Land Management Act 2013.
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 adopted by the National Assembly and promulgated by the President; the Constitutional Court may review their constitutionality.Bills are read three times in the single chamber and assented to by the President, who may refer a bill to the Supreme Court if he considers it inconsistent with the Constitution. Ordinary bills need a simple majority of members present, with a quorum of two-thirds. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of all members; if the amendment touches the status of Bislama, English or French, land, or the republican form of the state, it must also be approved at a national referendum.
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.Advokati belong to bar associations under the Serbian Bar Association; javni beleลพnici (notaries) handle deeds, company acts and succession.A fused profession regulated by the Legal Practitioners Act: practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice and licensed by the Law Council. The University of the South Pacific's law school is in Port Vila, so many Pacific lawyers train in Vanuatu. Practitioners may need to work in Bislama, English or French depending on the client and the court file, and the Public Solicitor is a constitutional office rather than a discretionary aid scheme.

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.