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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
AttributeRomaniaReviewedKenyaReviewedCubaReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed (common law, customary law, Islamic law)Socialist civil law
System of governmentUnitary semi-presidential republicUnitary presidential republic with devolved countiesOne-party socialist republic
ConstitutionConstitution of RomaniaConstitution of KenyaConstituciรณn de la Repรบblica de Cuba
In force since199120102019
CapitalBucharestNairobiHavana
Official languagesRomanianEnglish, SwahiliSpanish
CurrencyRomanian leu (RON)Kenyan Shilling (KES)Cuban peso (CUP)
Population19,000,00055,100,00011,200,000
Division of powersSemi-presidential: a directly elected President shares executive power with a Government answerable to Parliament, and constitutional conflicts between them are themselves justiciable before the Constitutional Court.Presidential system with no Prime Minister, a bicameral Parliament of National Assembly and Senate, 47 county governments with their own assemblies and executives, and an independent judiciary supervised by the Judicial Service Commission.Unitary, organised on the principle of a single system of state power. The 2019 Constitution and the 2019 territorial reform recognise 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, with provincial governors appointed on the President's nomination.
How law is madeA bill goes to a first-notified chamber and then to the decisional chamber, whose vote is final. The President may return it once for reconsideration or refer it to the Constitutional Court before promulgation and publication in Monitorul Oficial.Bills are read three times with committee scrutiny and public participation, which the courts treat as a justiciable requirement. Bills concerning counties must pass both chambers. The President assents or refers the bill back with reservations, which Parliament may override by two-thirds.Legislative initiative lies with deputies, the Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the courts, the Prosecutor General, mass organisations and 10,000 citizens by popular initiative. The Assembly meets in short ordinary sessions, so much law is made by decree-law of the Council of State and subsequently ratified. Constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the Assembly, and a referendum for provisions on the political system or rights.
Legal professionLawyers (avocaศ›i) are admitted through local bars affiliated to the UNBR after examination and a two-year traineeship; notaries and judicial enforcement officers are separate professions.Fused: an LLB, the Kenya School of Law advocates training programme, and admission by the Chief Justice produce an advocate of the High Court. The Law Society of Kenya is the professional body; Senior Counsel is the senior rank.Practising litigators generally work through the Organizaciรณn Nacional de Bufetes Colectivos, a self-financing national body of collective law offices; independent private practice is not a recognised route. Membership of the Uniรณn Nacional de Juristas de Cuba is the professional association. Notarial functions are performed by state notaries.

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.