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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
AttributeParaguayReviewedUruguayReviewedMaltaReviewedBoliviaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawCivil lawMixed (civil and common law)Civil law with indigenous jurisdiction
System of governmentUnitary presidential republicUnitary presidential republicUnitary parliamentary republicUnitary presidential republic
ConstitutionConstitution of the Republic of ParaguayConstitution of the Oriental Republic of UruguayConstitution of MaltaPolitical Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
In force since1992196719642009
CapitalAsunciรณnMontevideoVallettaSucre
Official languagesSpanish, GuaranรญSpanishMaltese, EnglishSpanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaranรญ
CurrencyParaguayan guaranรญ (PYG)Uruguayan peso (UYU)Euro (EUR)Bolivian boliviano (BOB)
Population6,900,0003,400,000540,00012,400,000
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 ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.Unitary with autonomies. Nine departments, municipalities, regions and indigenous territories each have elected assemblies and defined legislative competence under the Framework Law of Autonomies, which makes Bolivia substantially more decentralised than its unitary label suggests.
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 House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.Bills reach the Assembly from members, the executive, citizens or indigenous nations, and must pass both chambers. The President may observe a bill, and the Assembly insists by two-thirds. Total constitutional reform requires a constituent assembly activated by referendum; partial reform needs a two-thirds Assembly vote confirmed by 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.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.Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.A law degree plus a national registration with the Ministry of Justice and membership of a departmental colegio de abogados. Practitioners in indigenous jurisdiction are not lawyers: those proceedings are conducted by the community's own authorities under its own norms, and a state lawyer has no right of audience there.

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.