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	SpainReviewed	LesothoReviewed	The BahamasReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law	Mixed Roman-Dutch and English common law	Common law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy	Constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Spanish Constitution	Constitution of Lesotho	The Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
In force since	1992	1978	1993	1973
Capital	Asunción	Madrid	Maseru	Nassau
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Spanish	Sesotho, English	English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Euro (EUR)	Lesotho loti (LSL)	Bahamian dollar (BSD)
Population	6,900,000	48,400,000	2,300,000	410,000
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.	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 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.	Unitary. Parliament legislates nationally; the Family Islands are administered through local government districts created by the Local Government Act 1996, with New Providence excluded from that scheme.
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 pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.	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.	Bills pass three readings in the House of Assembly and Senate before the Governor-General assents. Entrenched constitutional provisions, including those on citizenship and the composition of Parliament, require both a three-quarters parliamentary majority and approval by referendum, which is why constitutional change has repeatedly failed.
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.	Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.	A split profession in form — advocates and attorneys are separately admitted under the Legal Practitioners Act — though in practice many practitioners hold both admissions; the Law Society of Lesotho regulates the attorneys' branch.	A fused profession of counsel and attorneys admitted by the Supreme Court under the Legal Profession Act 1992, after a law degree and either the Legal Education Certificate or qualification in another common-law jurisdiction. The Bahamas Bar Association and its Bar Council regulate practice.

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.