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.
Select up to six documented jurisdictions
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| Attribute | ParaguayReviewed | SpainReviewed | MadagascarReviewed | MaltaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Civil law | French civil law with customary law | Mixed (civil and common law) |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | Semi-presidential republic | Unitary parliamentary republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Spanish Constitution | Constitution of the Fourth Republic | Constitution of Malta |
| In force since | 1992 | 1978 | 2010 | 1964 |
| Capital | Asunción | Madrid | Antananarivo | Valletta |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní | Spanish | Malagasy, French | Maltese, English |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaraní (PYG) | Euro (EUR) | Malagasy ariary (MGA) | Euro (EUR) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 48,400,000 | 30,300,000 | 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. | 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 a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented. | 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 pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent. | Bills originate with the government or members of either chamber, are examined in committee, and must pass both the National Assembly and the Senate; the Assembly prevails on disagreement. The Haute Cour Constitutionnelle may review a law before promulgation, and organic laws must be referred to it as a matter of course. | 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. | Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts. | Avocats admitted to the Ordre des avocats de Madagascar after a law degree and professional training, alongside notaires for authenticated instruments and huissiers for service and enforcement — the standard French division of functions. | 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.