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 | UgandaReviewed | KenyaReviewed | MalawiReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Mixed (common law and customary law) | Mixed (common law, customary law, Islamic law) | English common law with customary law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary presidential republic with devolved counties | Presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Constitution of the Republic of Uganda | Constitution of Kenya | Constitution of the Republic of Malawi |
| In force since | 1992 | 1995 | 2010 | 1994 |
| Capital | Asunción | Kampala | Nairobi | Lilongwe |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaraní | English, Swahili, Luganda | English, Swahili | English, Chichewa |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaraní (PYG) | Ugandan Shilling (UGX) | Kenyan Shilling (KES) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 48,600,000 | 55,100,000 | 20,900,000 |
| 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. | Presidential system with a Prime Minister, a unicameral Parliament, and a judiciary in which the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal (sitting also as the Constitutional Court) and High Court form the superior courts. | Presidential system with no Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate, 47 county governments with their own assemblies and executives, and an independent judiciary supervised by the Judicial Service Commission. | Unitary with three regions and 28 districts administered by local councils. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over customary land and local dispute resolution. |
| 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 receive three readings with committee scrutiny; certificates of financial implication are required for money bills. The President assents, returns the bill twice with recommendations, or it becomes law if passed a third time by two-thirds. | Bills are read three times with committee scrutiny and public participation, which the courts treat as a justiciable requirement. Bills concerning counties must pass both chambers. The President assents or refers the bill back with reservations, which Parliament may override by two-thirds. | Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly with committee scrutiny and are presented for presidential assent, which must be given or withheld within 21 days. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority, and amendments affecting entrenched provisions additionally require a referendum. |
| 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. | Fused; an LLB, the Law Development Centre post-graduate diploma and enrolment admit an advocate. The Uganda Law Society is the professional body. | Fused: an LLB, the Kenya School of Law advocates training programme, and admission by the Chief Justice produce an advocate of the High Court. The Law Society of Kenya is the professional body; Senior Counsel is the senior rank. | A fused profession of legal practitioners admitted by the High Court after a law degree, regulated by the Malawi Law Society under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act. |
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.