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	SenegalReviewed	MadagascarReviewed
Legal family	Civil law (French tradition)	French civil law with customary law
System of government	Unitary presidential republic	Semi-presidential republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Senegal	Constitution of the Fourth Republic
In force since	2001	2010
Capital	Dakar	Antananarivo
Official languages	French, Wolof, Pulaar, Serer	Malagasy, French
Currency	West African CFA franc (XOF)	Malagasy ariary (MGA)
Population	17,700,000	30,300,000
Division of powers	A strong executive presidency with a Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, a unicameral National Assembly, and a judiciary in which the Conseil constitutionnel, Cour suprême and Cour des comptes occupy separate apexes.	Unitary with a decentralised structure of 23 regions and communes. Successive constitutions have promised fuller decentralisation, including provincial autonomy, which has not been implemented.
How law is made	Bills originate with the government or deputies, are examined in committee and voted in plenary. The President promulgates within the constitutional period or refers the text to the Conseil constitutionnel.	Bills originate with the government or members of either chamber, are examined in committee, and must pass both the National Assembly and the Senate; the Assembly prevails on disagreement. The Haute Cour Constitutionnelle may review a law before promulgation, and organic laws must be referred to it as a matter of course.
Legal profession	Avocats are admitted to the Ordre des avocats du Sénégal after a law degree, the CFPA professional course and a traineeship. Notaires and huissiers are separate regulated professions.	Avocats admitted to the Ordre des avocats de Madagascar after a law degree and professional training, alongside notaires for authenticated instruments and huissiers for service and enforcement — the standard French division of functions.

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.