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 | RomaniaReviewed | SpainReviewed | MalawiReviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law | Civil law | English common law with customary law |
| System of government | Unitary semi-presidential republic | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | Presidential republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of Romania | Spanish Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Malawi |
| In force since | 1991 | 1978 | 1994 |
| Capital | Bucharest | Madrid | Lilongwe |
| Official languages | Romanian | Spanish | English, Chichewa |
| Currency | Romanian leu (RON) | Euro (EUR) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
| Population | 19,000,000 | 48,400,000 | 20,900,000 |
| Division of powers | Semi-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. | A constitutional monarchy with the King as head of state, an executive led by the President of the Government, a bicameral parliament and an independent judiciary, overlaid by extensive regional self-government. | Unitary with three regions and 28 districts administered by local councils. Traditional authorities exercise recognised functions over customary land and local dispute resolution. |
| How law is made | A 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 pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent. | Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly with committee scrutiny and are presented for presidential assent, which must be given or withheld within 21 days. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority, and amendments affecting entrenched provisions additionally require a referendum. |
| Legal profession | Lawyers (avocați) are admitted through local bars affiliated to the UNBR after examination and a two-year traineeship; notaries and judicial enforcement officers are separate professions. | Abogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts. | A fused profession of legal practitioners admitted by the High Court after a law degree, regulated by the Malawi Law Society under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act. |
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.