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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedSpainReviewedAlgeriaReviewedLesothoReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCivil lawCivil law with Islamic law in personal statusMixed Roman-Dutch and English common law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchySemi-presidential republicParliamentary constitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguaySpanish ConstitutionConstitution of the People's Democratic Republic of AlgeriaConstitution of Lesotho
In force since1992197820201993
CapitalAsunciรณnMadridAlgiersMaseru
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญSpanishArabic, TamazightSesotho, English
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Euro (EUR)Algerian dinar (DZD)Lesotho loti (LSL)
Population6,900,00048,400,00045,600,0002,300,000
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 constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government.Unitary, with 58 wilayas headed by walis appointed by the President alongside elected wilaya assemblies, and communes below them. Local bodies administer central policy and hold limited own-source revenue; they do not legislate.Unitary with ten districts, and a recognised hierarchy of chiefs exercising customary functions over land allocation and local dispute resolution. The Senate includes the twenty-two principal chiefs ex officio.
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.Bills pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.Bills come from the government or from at least twenty members of either chamber. They are examined in committee, passed by the People's National Assembly and then the Council of the Nation, with a joint commission resolving disagreement. Organic laws require an absolute majority in the lower house and a three-quarters majority in the upper, plus mandatory constitutional review. The President promulgates within thirty days and may seek a second reading requiring a two-thirds majority to overcome.Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly, go to the Senate for review, and receive royal assent. The Senate can delay but not indefinitely block ordinary bills. Amendments to entrenched constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected clauses, a 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.Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.Avocats are admitted through regional bars coordinated by the Union Nationale des Ordres des Avocats, with separate accreditation required for appearance before the Supreme Court and Council of State. Judges and prosecutors form a single career magistracy trained at the ร‰cole Supรฉrieure de la Magistrature. Notaries and bailiffs are regulated public officers in the French tradition, and notarial deeds are compulsory for real-property transfers.A split profession in form โ€” advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act โ€” though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.

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.