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 | São Tomé and PríncipeIndexed | South AfricaReviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Legal family | Civil law (Portuguese tradition) | Mixed: Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, customary law |
| System of government | Unitary semi-presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe | Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 |
| In force since | 1990 | 1996 |
| Capital | São Tomé | Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial) |
| Official languages | Portuguese | isiZulu, English, Afrikaans, +9 official languages |
| Currency | São Tomé and Príncipe Dobra (STN) | South African Rand (ZAR) |
| Population | 230,000 | 61,000,000 |
| Division of powers | Semi-presidential: a directly elected President with veto and dissolution powers, a Prime Minister accountable to the National Assembly, and an independent judiciary. | Parliamentary executive with strong constitutional supremacy; the Constitutional Court may declare conduct of any branch invalid. |
| How law is made | Bills are debated and voted by the National Assembly and sent to the President for promulgation; the President may veto, returning the text with a message. | Bills are tagged by subject matter, pass the National Assembly and, where provinces are affected, the NCOP, before presidential assent; the President may refer a bill to the Constitutional Court. |
| Legal profession | Advogados admitted through the Ordem dos Advogados; the profession is very small and many practitioners train in Portugal. | The Legal Practice Act 2014 unified regulation under the Legal Practice Council, retaining the attorney and advocate distinction. |
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.