The Netherlands is a civil law country. Its laws are written. The role of case law is small in theory, but in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without taking into account the relevant case law. The primary law-making body is formed by the Dutch Parliament in...

Macedonia (FYR), a South-East European land-locked multi-ethnic country, declared its independence in 1991, following Yugoslavia's dissolution. It has been a candidate for European Union membership since 2005, and has held a conditional invitation to join the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization...

Cyprus was granted independence in 1960 with a Constitution that set out a power-sharing system, strictly communally divided between the 'Greeks' and the 'Turks'. The Constitution recognises two 'communities', the Greeks and the Turks and three 'religious groups', the Maronites, the Armenians...

Montenegro is one of the successor states of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It remained as a joint state with Serbia after Yugoslavia's violent break-up, but in 2006 the country regained independence and is now moderately prepared candidate country for membership of the...

Latvia is a multi-ethnic country, although the proportion of the different ethnic groups among its population has varied. Ethnic origin is recorded in the population register. It is based on the ethnicity of either of a person's parents and can be changed upon reaching the age of majority by...

Norway is a relatively homogenous country with approximately 5,2 million inhabitants. There are 698 550 immigrants in Norway and 149 657 people born in Norway with immigrant parents. These two groups constitute approximately 16,3% of the total population. There are 538 000 persons with...

According to the most recent population census of 2002, Slovenia consists of 83 % ethnic Slovenians, 1.98 % Serbs, 1.81 % Croats, 1.10 % Bosnians, 0.11 % Italians, 0.32 % Hungarians and 0.17 % Roma. Members of the Italian and Hungarian ethnic minorities enjoy the status of autochthonous...

Greece is a parliamentary republic. Popular sovereignty is the foundation of government and all powers derive from the people and exist for the people and the nation. The national legislative authority rests jointly with Parliament and the Government. Greece follows a civil law system...