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	SurinameReviewed	GhanaReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Civil law	Mixed (common law and customary law)
System of governmentIdentical	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of the Republic of Suriname	Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
In force since	1992	1987	1992
Capital	Asunción	Paramaribo	Accra
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Dutch	English, Akan, Ewe, Dagbani
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Surinamese dollar (SRD)	Ghanaian Cedi (GHS)
Population	6,900,000	620,000	34,100,000
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.	Unitary, with ten districts headed by appointed district commissioners and elected district councils. Indigenous and Maroon communities in the interior are governed by traditional authorities whose land rights are not yet fully codified, despite repeated Inter-American Court rulings requiring it.	Executive president with a Cabinet drawn substantially from Parliament, a unicameral legislature, and a judiciary whose independence is protected by security of tenure and a charged-on-consolidated-fund salary.
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 executive or by Assembly members, debated and passed by a simple majority of the 51-member Assembly, then ratified and promulgated by the President. Constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority of the Assembly. Because the Assembly also elects the President, executive and legislature are closely fused.	A bill is gazetted, read three times, considered by committee and passed by simple majority. Bills with financial implications need presidential consent to be introduced. The President assents; refusal returns the bill with reasons.
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.	Qualification is by a Surinamese law degree from the Anton de Kom University followed by admission as an advocaat by the Hof van Justitie and enrolment in the Surinaamse Orde van Advocaten. Practice is conducted in Dutch, so foreign parties should budget for sworn translation; notarissen hold exclusive competence over conveyancing and company deeds.	Fused: an LLB, the Ghana School of Law professional course and enrolment admit a lawyer who may both solicit and advocate.

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.