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
Attribute	TongaReviewed	ComorosReviewed	BelarusReviewed
Legal family	Common law with customary law	Mixed French civil law and Islamic law	Civil law
System of government	Constitutional monarchy	Federal presidential republic	Unitary presidential republic
Constitution	Act of Constitution of Tonga	Constitution of the Union of the Comoros	Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
In force since	1875	2001	1994
Capital	Nuku'alofa	Moroni	Minsk
Official languages	Tongan, English	Comorian, Arabic, French	Belarusian, Russian
Currency	Tongan paʻanga (TOP)	Comorian franc (KMF)	Belarusian rouble (BYN)
Population	105,000	850,000	9,100,000
Division of powers	Unitary. The Legislative Assembly legislates for the whole kingdom, and the island divisions of Tongatapu, Vava'u, Ha'apai, 'Eua and the Niuas are administrative districts headed by governors. Below that, town and district officers are elected under the Fakafekau'aki and District and Town Officers Act.	Federal. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli each have a governor and their own assembly with substantial autonomy over local administration, while the Union handles defence, currency, foreign affairs and nationality.	Strongly presidential: the President legislates by decree, appoints half of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court leadership, and the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly holds constitutional functions above the ordinary branches.
How law is made	Bills pass three readings in the Legislative Assembly and require the King's assent, which is a real rather than purely formal step. Ordinary bills need a simple majority. Amendments to the Constitution require a majority in the Assembly at three separate readings and the consent of the King and Privy Council, and clause 79 forbids any amendment affecting the law of liberty, the succession to the throne or the titles and hereditary estates of the nobles.	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.	Bills pass the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic and are signed by the President, who may return them. Separately, the President may issue decrees and edicts with the force of law, including on matters otherwise reserved to statute.
Legal profession	Law practitioners are admitted by the Chief Justice and licensed under the Law Practitioners Act, with the Tonga Law Society as the professional body. Most qualify overseas or at the University of the South Pacific. A practitioner working on land must know the Land Act's allotment system rather than general property law, because the constitutional bar on selling land means conveyancing in the ordinary sense does not exist.	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.	Advocacy is organised through territorial bar collegiums under close Ministry of Justice supervision; 2021 amendments abolished independent practice and required membership of a legal consultancy office.

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.