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.

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Comparison of selected legal systems
Attribute	ParaguayReviewed	VanuatuReviewed	UgandaReviewed	NauruReviewed
Legal family	Civil law	Mixed common, civil and customary law	Mixed (common law and customary law)	Common law with customary law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary presidential republic	Parliamentary republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Paraguay	Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu	Constitution of the Republic of Uganda	Constitution of Nauru
In force since	1992	1980	1995	1968
Capital	Asunción	Port Vila	Kampala	Yaren (seat of government)
Official languages	Spanish, Guaraní	Bislama, English, French	English, Swahili, Luganda	Nauruan, English
Currency	Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)	Vanuatu vatu (VUV)	Ugandan Shilling (UGX)	Australian dollar (AUD)
Population	6,900,000	330,000	48,600,000	12,500
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 — Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba — 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.	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 and highly centralised — Nauru has no second tier of general government. The Nauru Island Council was abolished in 1999, so the state deals directly with citizens, though the 14 districts remain the basis for parliamentary constituencies and the twelve tribes retain social significance in land and title questions.
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 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 receive three readings in the 19-member chamber and are assented to by the President. Ordinary legislation needs a simple majority, but the entrenched provisions of Part XI require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected articles, approval at a referendum — the barrier that defeated the 2010 reform proposals.
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.	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.	Fused; an LLB, the Law Development Centre post-graduate diploma and enrolment admit an advocate. The Uganda Law Society is the professional body.	A very small fused profession admitted by the Supreme Court under the Legal Practitioners Act 1973, supplemented by pleaders — non-lawyers licensed to appear in the District Court and before the Lands Committee, a practical necessity given the number of resident lawyers. Judicial officers are frequently appointed from Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere in the Pacific.

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.