Norway is based on a civil law system, where the Constitution is top of the hierarchy and national laws and regulations define the system in more detail. The interpretation of laws is based on both preparatory works as well as interpretations by the courts. The court system is based on three...

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, consisting of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are not members of the EU. The Danish judicial system is based on the traditions of civil law as in continental Europe and is more or less divided into private law and...

Croatia is a unitary and indivisible democratic and welfare state (Article 1 of the Constitution). The Croatian legal system is a civil law system, and the government is organised on the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches, but also limited by the...

The authority to enact laws is vested in the Swedish Parliament (the Riksdag). The Government, however, has the power to issue decrees concerning less important matters. To some extent this power stems directly from the Instrument of Government. But the Government can also be granted authority...

The Slovak Republic is one of the two (the other is Czech Republic) successor states established after the political change on 1 January 1993, based on Constitutional Act No. 542/1992 Coll. on the Dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. Slovakia is a unitary state, divided into...

The Republic of Lithuania is a unitary state where legislative authority is vested in the central government. The regulatory authority is vested in the Parliament (the Seimas), whereas the implementation and execution of legislation belongs to the main competences of the Government (Vyriausybė)...

The national legal system in Liechtenstein is - corresponding to its Constitution - a constitutional hereditary monarchy based on democracy and parliamentary government. Parliament (Landtag) is the representative body of the nation. Its main task is to pass legislation. For a law to enter into...

France has a long-standing tradition of legislating in favour of gender equality in the domain of employment and professional life. The principle of equality between men and women was first recognized in 1946 in the Preamble to the French Constitution. The law of 11 February 1950 first regulated...

The Finnish legal system is based on statute law. The Government has the legislative initiative, but even legislative proposals made by MPs may be adopted. An agenda initiative has been in use since 2012. In most cases, legislation is introduced by a Government Bill, but even the new citizens'...

The United Kingdom (UK) comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (NI). Great Britain (GB) includes England, Wales and Scotland. The UK, which has three legal jurisdictions (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), is a parliamentary democracy with neither a written...