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 | VanuatuReviewed | IraqReviewed | GrenadaReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Mixed common, civil and customary law | Civil law with Islamic law influence | Common law |
| System of government | Unitary presidential republic | Unitary parliamentary republic | Federal parliamentary republic | Constitutional monarchy |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay | Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu | Constitution of the Republic of Iraq | The Grenada Constitution |
| In force since | 1992 | 1980 | 2005 | 1973 |
| Capital | Asunciรณn | Port Vila | Baghdad | Saint George's |
| Official languages | Spanish, Guaranรญ | Bislama, English, French | Arabic, Kurdish | English |
| Currency | Paraguayan guaranรญ (PYG) | Vanuatu vatu (VUV) | Iraqi dinar (IQD) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Population | 6,900,000 | 330,000 | 45,500,000 | 126,000 |
| 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 decentralised administration. Six provinces โ Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba โ have councils under the Decentralisation Act with delegated functions. Custom land management is decentralised much further, to area-level Custom Land Tribunals and nakamal-based decision-making under the Custom Land Management Act 2013. | Genuinely federal in form: 15 governorates not organised into a region, plus the Kurdistan Region, which has its own Parliament, government, judiciary and security forces. Governorates may petition to form new regions. Residual powers lie with the regions and governorates rather than the centre, and regional law prevails over federal law outside the exclusive federal competences โ the reverse of the usual federal rule. | Unitary. The state comprises Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique; Carriacou and Petite Martinique have a Ministry and local administration but no separate legislature. |
| 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 read three times in the single chamber and assented to by the President, who may refer a bill to the Supreme Court if he considers it inconsistent with the Constitution. Ordinary bills need a simple majority of members present, with a quorum of two-thirds. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of all members; if the amendment touches the status of Bislama, English or French, land, or the republican form of the state, it must also be approved at a national referendum. | Bills are proposed by the President with the Council of Ministers, or by ten members or a committee of the Council of Representatives. They pass two readings and a vote, and the President ratifies within fifteen days, after which they are published and take effect. The Federation Council envisaged by the Constitution has never been created, so there is no second chamber in practice. | Bills pass three readings in both Houses and receive the Governor-General's assent. Constitutional amendments to entrenched provisions need a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and then approval by a referendum, a double lock that has defeated every reform package put to voters. |
| 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 Guaranรญ are official, courts must provide interpretation, and practitioners outside Asunciรณn are commonly bilingual. | A fused profession regulated by the Legal Practitioners Act: practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice and licensed by the Law Council. The University of the South Pacific's law school is in Port Vila, so many Pacific lawyers train in Vanuatu. Practitioners may need to work in Bislama, English or French depending on the client and the court file, and the Public Solicitor is a constitutional office rather than a discretionary aid scheme. | Lawyers are admitted by the Iraqi Bar Association under the Advocacy Law, with grades of practice determining which courts a member may appear in โ a seniority ladder rather than a single right of audience. The Bar is self-governing and its licence is required for court work. The Kurdistan Region has its own bar association, and the two are administratively distinct, so practitioners generally hold the licence appropriate to where they appear. | A fused profession of legal practitioners admitted by the High Court under the Legal Profession Act, after a law degree and the Legal Education Certificate. The Grenada Bar Association represents practitioners. |
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.