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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedUruguayReviewedGreeceReviewedBotswanaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCivil lawCivil lawMixed Roman-Dutch and English common law
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary republicParliamentary republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Oriental Republic of UruguayConstitution of GreeceConstitution of Botswana
In force since1992196719751966
CapitalAsunciรณnMontevideoAthensGaborone
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญSpanishGreekEnglish, Setswana
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Uruguayan peso (UYU)Euro (EUR)Botswana pula (BWP)
Population6,900,0003,400,00010,400,0002,680,000
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.Unitary. Nineteen departments have elected intendentes and juntas with administrative and local taxing competence, and municipalities were added in 2010, but all legislative power belongs to the General Assembly.A parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial President, a Government answerable to Parliament and an independent judiciary organised into civil/criminal, administrative and audit branches.Unitary. Districts and sub-districts administer central policy, and the House of Chiefs (Ntlo ya Dikgosi) is an advisory chamber that must be consulted on bills affecting customary law, tribal organisation and tribal property.
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 pass both chambers; disagreement is resolved by the General Assembly sitting jointly. The executive may veto, overcome by three-fifths of the joint assembly. Distinctively, 25% of registered voters can force a referendum to repeal a statute within one year of promulgation, and 10% can initiate a constitutional plebiscite.Bills are passed by the Hellenic Parliament and promulgated by the President; a Special Highest Court resolves disputes over constitutionality.Bills are introduced in the National Assembly, take three readings with committee scrutiny between the second and third, and go to the President for assent. Bills affecting customary law, tribal property or the organisation of the tribes must first be referred to the Ntlo ya Dikgosi for its opinion, though that opinion does not bind the Assembly.
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.A degree from the Universidad de la Repรบblica or an accredited private faculty confers the title of abogado, with registration by the Supreme Court. Membership of the Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay is voluntary; the Supreme Court exercises discipline. Escribanos pรบblicos are a separate profession with exclusive competence over conveyancing.Dikigoroi (advocates) belong to local bar associations; symvolaiografoi (notaries) authenticate deeds and property transfers.A fused profession of attorneys admitted by the High Court after a recognised law degree and articles of pupillage; there is no split between advocates and attorneys, and the Law Society of Botswana regulates 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 โ€” the constitutional detail behind a one-line summary is often the part that governs the outcome.