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Comparison

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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
AttributeSouth SudanIndexedLiechtensteinReviewed
Legal familyCommon law with customary lawCivil law
System of governmentTransitional government of national unitySemi-constitutional hereditary monarchy with direct democracy
ConstitutionTransitional Constitution of the Republic of South SudanConstitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein
In force since20111921
CapitalJubaVaduz
Official languagesEnglish, Arabic, Dinka, NuerGerman
CurrencySouth Sudanese pound (SSP)Swiss Franc (CHF)
Population11,100,00040,000
Division of powersDecentralised in form, with states and administrative areas whose number has changed repeatedly โ€” from ten at independence to twenty-eight, then thirty-two, and back to ten plus administrative areas under the 2018 agreement. Local government includes county and payam tiers and statutory customary authorities.A unitary state of eleven communes, which retain a constitutional right of secession. Power is shared between the Prince, the Landtag and the electorate: 1,000 citizens can demand a referendum on a law and 1,500 can initiate a constitutional amendment. EEA membership adds a supranational layer supervised by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court.
How law is madeBills are introduced by ministers or members, considered in committee and passed by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, with the Council of States participating on matters affecting the states. The President assents. Because the legislature is constituted by power-sharing quota rather than election, and because several key bills including the permanent constitutional process have stalled, the process is transitional rather than settled.A bill is debated and adopted by the Landtag, then requires the sanction of the Reigning Prince, whose refusal is absolute and not overridable. Statutes may be subjected to a referendum on the demand of 1,000 citizens or of the Landtag itself, and are published in the Landesgesetzblatt.
Legal professionAdvocates are admitted through the Ministry of Justice and represented by the South Sudan Bar Association, and the profession is small relative to need, with many practitioners trained in Uganda, Kenya or Sudan. Judicial numbers are low and vacancies persistent, which is a large part of why customary courts carry most of the dispute-resolution load.Rechtsanwรคlte are admitted by the Liechtenstein Bar Association after a law degree, a supervised traineeship and the bar examination; qualifications from Austria and Switzerland are widely recognised. Trustees (Treuhรคnder) are a distinct and significant regulated profession given the importance of foundations and asset structures.

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.