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	QatarReviewed	SamoaReviewed	MaltaReviewed
Legal family	Mixed (civil law and Islamic law, with a common-law financial centre)	Common law with customary law	Mixed (civil and common law)
System of government	Unitary constitutional monarchy	Unitary parliamentary republic	Unitary parliamentary republic
Constitution	Permanent Constitution of the State of Qatar	Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa	Constitution of Malta
In force since	2004	1962	1964
Capital	Doha	Apia	Valletta
Official languages	Arabic	Samoan, English	Maltese, English
Currency	Qatari riyal (QAR)	Samoan tālā (WST)	Euro (EUR)
Population	3,000,000	220,000	540,000
Division of powers	Unitary. Eight municipalities administered centrally, with a Central Municipal Council of twenty-nine elected members holding advisory functions over local services only.	Unitary. Parliament legislates for the whole country. Below it, about 250 villages govern themselves through the village fono (council of matai) under the Village Fono Act 1990, which gives customary village authority statutory recognition — a genuine layer of local government rather than a delegation of central power.	A parliamentary republic with a ceremonial President, a Cabinet led by the Prime Minister answerable to the House of Representatives and an independent judiciary.
How law is made	The Council of Ministers prepares draft legislation, which goes to the Shura Council for review and then to the Emir for ratification and publication in the Official Gazette. The Emir may return a bill to the Council, and may legislate by decree when the Shura Council is not in session, subject to later submission. Following the 2024 amendment the Council is entirely appointed, so there is no elected legislative check.	Bills are read three times in the Legislative Assembly, usually with parliamentary committee scrutiny, and are then assented to by the O le Ao o le Malo. Ordinary bills need a simple majority. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of all members at the third reading, and any amendment affecting customary land or matai titles is politically entrenched by the strength of the fa'a Samoa consensus even where the two-thirds threshold is met.	Bills are passed by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President before publication in the Government Gazette.
Legal profession	Advocacy before the ordinary courts is reserved to Qatari nationals on the roll of advocates, with foreign lawyers licensed as consultants; onshore pleadings are in Arabic. The QICDRC admits common-law practitioners and sits in English. Attestation before the Ministry of Justice notary is required for powers of attorney, company documents and real property transfers.	A fused profession under the Lawyers and Legal Practice Act 2014: lawyers are admitted by the Supreme Court and must hold a practising certificate from the Samoa Law Society. Most qualify at the University of the South Pacific or in New Zealand. Practice before the Land and Titles Court is different in character from ordinary litigation, because the issues are matai genealogy and customary entitlement rather than statutory or common-law rights.	Advocates are admitted to the bar after a law degree and warrant; legal procurators and notaries handle procedural filing and authentication of deeds.

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.