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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
AttributeSpainReviewedComorosReviewedHaitiReviewed
Legal familyCivil lawMixed French civil law and Islamic lawCivil law
System of governmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchyFederal presidential republicUnitary semi-presidential republic
ConstitutionSpanish ConstitutionConstitution of the Union of the ComorosConstitution de la Rรฉpublique d'Haรฏti
In force since197820011987
CapitalMadridMoroniPort-au-Prince
Official languagesSpanishComorian, Arabic, FrenchFrench, Haitian Creole
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Comorian franc (KMF)Haitian gourde (HTG)
Population48,400,000850,00011,600,000
Division of powersA 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.Federal. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohรฉli each have a governor and their own assembly with substantial autonomy over local administration, while the Union handles defence, currency, foreign affairs and nationality.Unitary with constitutionally recognised decentralisation to 10 departments, arrondissements and communes, and to the communal section as the smallest territorial unit. In practice the elected local bodies are largely unfilled and replaced by appointed interim commissions.
How law is madeBills pass both chambers of the Cortes Generales, with the Congress of Deputies able to override the Senate, and receive royal assent.Bills originate with the government or members of the Assembly of the Union, are examined in committee and passed by the Assembly, then promulgated by the President. Matters within island competence are legislated by the island assemblies, and disputes over the boundary between Union and island competence are a standing feature of Comorian constitutional practice.Under the 1987 Constitution bills pass both chambers and are promulgated by the President, who may return a text once for reconsideration. With Parliament not sitting, measures have been issued as executive decrees since 2020 โ€” a practice widely criticised as lacking constitutional foundation, and a key reason to check the current status of any recent instrument before relying on it.
Legal professionAbogados belong to local bar associations (colegios de abogados); procuradores represent parties procedurally and notaries authenticate deeds and company acts.A small bar of avocats admitted after French-model legal training, supplemented by qadis who require religious-law qualification for the personal-status jurisdiction; many practitioners train in France or Madagascar.Advocates are admitted to one of the departmental bars (Ordre des avocats), most prominently the Port-au-Prince bar, after a law degree and a period of pupillage. Notaries hold a separate public office with exclusive competence over authentic acts including land transfers, which matters greatly given widespread informality in land title.

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.