Comparison

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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	SomaliaIndexed	UruguayReviewed	MaltaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Pluralist: Islamic, customary and civil law	Civil law	Mixed (civil and common law)
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Federal parliamentary republic	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia	Constitution of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay	Constitution of Malta
In force since	1992	2012	1967	1964
Capital	Asunción	Mogadishu	Montevideo	Valletta
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Somali, Arabic	Spanish	Maltese, English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Somali shilling (SOS)	Uruguayan peso (UYU)	Euro (EUR)
Population	6,900,000	18,100,000	3,400,000	540,000
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.	Federal in form, with member states including Puntland, Jubaland, South West, Hirshabelle and Galmudug. The division of powers was left to be settled by later agreement and remains contested, particularly over revenue and security. Somaliland, in the northwest, does not participate and administers its own institutions.	Unitary. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly.	A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.
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 are introduced by the government or members and passed by the House of the People, with the Upper House participating on matters affecting member states, before presidential assent. Because Article 2 subjects all legislation to consistency with Sharia and no court exists to adjudicate that limit, and because member-state legislation operates in parallel, the effective legislative picture cannot be described as unified.	Bills pass both chambers; disagreement is resolved by the General Assembly sitting jointly. The executive may veto, overcome by three-fifths of the joint assembly. Distinctively, 25% of registered voters can force a referendum to repeal a statute within one year of promulgation, and 10% can initiate a constitutional plebiscite.	Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.
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.	Advocates practise through the Somali Bar Association and regional bar associations, with legal education rebuilt through universities in Mogadishu, Hargeisa and elsewhere since the 1990s. Many practitioners work across the formal courts and customary forums, since a client's remedy often lies in the latter. Verified current figures on admission and numbers are not available, which is reflected in this entry's status.	A degree from the Universidad de la República or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos públicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing.	Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.

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.