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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedUgandaReviewedPhilippinesReviewedMoroccoReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed (common law and customary law)Mixed civil and common lawCivil law with Islamic law in personal status
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary presidential republicUnitary presidential republicConstitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Republic of UgandaConstitution of the Republic of the PhilippinesConstitution of the Kingdom of Morocco
In force since1992199519872011
CapitalAsunciรณnKampalaManilaRabat
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญEnglish, Swahili, LugandaFilipino, EnglishArabic, Tamazight
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Ugandan Shilling (UGX)Philippine peso (PHP)Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Population6,900,00048,600,000114,000,00037,500,000
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.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.Unitary but with a constitutionally mandated Local Government Code devolving substantial powers, and one autonomous region: the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, created in 2019 under the Bangsamoro Organic Law with its own parliament and its own Syariah justice system.Unitary but substantially regionalised since 2015, with twelve regions holding directly elected councils and their own budgets under the advanced regionalisation programme. Regions have executive competences in development planning and transport; they do not legislate.
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 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.A bill passes three readings in each chamber, is reconciled in a bicameral conference committee, and goes to the President, who may veto it in whole or โ€” uniquely for appropriation, revenue and tariff bills โ€” line by line. Congress may override by two-thirds of each house voting separately. The Constitution also reserves a people's initiative for amendments, though the enabling machinery has repeatedly been held inadequate.Bills may be introduced by the head of government or by members of either chamber. They pass through committee and plenary in both houses, with the House of Representatives having the final word where the chambers disagree. Organic laws must be referred to the Constitutional Court before promulgation. The King promulgates statutes by dahir within thirty days, and may ask parliament to reconsider a bill or submit it to 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.Fused; an LLB, the Law Development Centre post-graduate diploma and enrolment admit an advocate. The Uganda Law Society is the professional body.A single fused profession of attorneys admitted to the Philippine Bar by the Supreme Court itself, which controls admission, discipline and the rules of practice โ€” a power the Constitution assigns to the Court rather than to the executive or a bar council. Candidates complete a four-year law degree and sit the Bar Examinations, historically among the hardest in Asia with pass rates often under 25 per cent. All lawyers belong to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Court has imposed mandatory continuing legal education since 2000.Avocats are admitted to one of the regional bars and organised nationally through the Association des Barreaux du Maroc; practice before the Court of Cassation requires additional seniority. Notaries and adouls coexist โ€” the notaire handles conveyancing and company documents in the French tradition, while the adoul draws up marriage and inheritance instruments under Islamic law. Judges are career appointments trained at the Institut Supรฉrieur de la Magistrature.

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.