# Law No. 2991 of November 30, 1956

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648937](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648937)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-2991-of-november-30-1956

## Summary
Law No. 2991 of November 30, 1956 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek that establishes provisions for special budgetary adjustments, purchasing procedures, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil. Published in Rio de Janeiro on November 30, 1956, this legal instrument is written in Brazilian Portuguese and remains accessible through the official LexML Brazil repository and the Planalto government portal.

## Key Facts
- **Legal Title:** Lei nº 2991, de 30 de novembro de 1956
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 2991/1956
- **Document Type:** Statute, which is a formal written document that creates law and serves as a subclass of written work, document, and rule
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgating President:** Juscelino Kubitschek (as specified by property P1891)
- **Promulgation Date:** November 30, 1956
- **Publication Date:** November 30, 1956
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies to the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Primary Subjects:** Special budgetary adjustment (stated as "Credito Especial"), purchasing (stated as "Aquisição"), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (stated as "Itamarati (Mre)")
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2991.htm
- **Wikimedia Project Status:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws focus list
- **Copyright Status:** Public domain in the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine, which exempts official legal documents from copyright
- **Dewey Decimal Classification:** 342.057 and 348.02
- **German Integrated Authority File (GND) ID:** 4020660-9
- **Library of Congress Authority ID:** sh85127611
- **Bibliothèque nationale de France Thesaurus ID:** 120485802
- **National Library of Spain ID:** XX528757 (under "Leyes")
- **BNCF Thesaurus ID:** 7904
- **YSO ID:** 4200 (säädökset)
- **HDS ID:** 030903
- **NDL Authority ID:** 00563423
- **Art & Architecture Thesaurus IDs:** 300027891 (statutes) and 300027889 (legislative acts)
- **PACTOLS Thesaurus ID:** pcrt2XKbjOmPcT
- **Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging ID:** 13378 for statute, 13377 for act
- **Museum Digital Tag ID:** 4605
- **Main Category:** Category:Act
- **Schema.org Equivalent:** Equivalent class to https://schema.org/Legislation
- **Google Knowledge Graph ID:** /g/120kn55l
- **BabelNet ID:** 00050588n
- **KBpedia Reference:** "Statute" (referenced 2020-07-09)
- **Associated Properties:** P467, P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681

## FAQs
**What is Law No. 2991 of 1956 and what does it regulate?**
Law No. 2991 of November 30, 1956 is a Brazilian federal statute that regulates special budgetary adjustments (Credito Especial), government purchasing procedures (Aquisição), and specific provisions for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil (Itamarati). The law establishes the legal framework for these administrative and financial operations within the federal government.

**Who signed Law No. 2991 into law and when did this occur?**
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated Law No. 2991 on November 30, 1956, as the head of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The promulgation date coincides with the official publication date of the statute.

**What language is Law No. 2991 written in and where was it published?**
The statute is written in Brazilian Portuguese and was published in Rio de Janeiro, which served as Brazil's capital at the time. The original publication occurred on November 30, 1956, during the early years of Kubitschek's presidency.

**How can researchers and citizens access the full text of this law?**
The complete text of Law No. 2991 is publicly available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2991.htm through the official Planalto government portal. Additionally, the law is cataloged in the LexML Brazil system with the permanent identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991.

**What type of legal instrument is Law No. 2991 and how is it classified?**
Law No. 2991 is a statute, which is a formal written document that creates law and functions as a manifestation of statutory law. It is classified as a subclass of written work, document, and rule, and is composed of legal norms that result in statutory law.

**Is Law No. 2991 protected by copyright or can it be freely reproduced?**
Law No. 2991 is in the public domain in both the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine, which establishes that official legal documents are not copyrightable. This ensures that citizens, researchers, and legal professionals can freely access, reproduce, and distribute the text without restriction.

**What makes this law part of Brazil's official legal documentation system?**
The statute carries a LexML Brazil identifier (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991) and is included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative focused on documenting Brazilian legislation. It is also assigned multiple international library authority identifiers, making it discoverable through global bibliographic systems.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 2991 of November 30, 1956 represents a concrete example of Brazil's mid-20th century legislative process during the transformative Kubitschek administration, which oversaw the country's rapid industrialization and construction of Brasília. As a statute, it embodies the principle that laws must be formal written documents to create binding legal obligations, ensuring transparency and accountability in government budgetary and purchasing decisions. The law's specific focus on special budgetary credits and Foreign Ministry operations illustrates how federal statutes govern the day-to-day administrative functions of the Brazilian state, providing the legal authority for expenditures and acquisitions that enable diplomatic and governmental operations. Its inclusion in the LexML Brazil system and WikiProject Brazilian Laws demonstrates Brazil's commitment to open government and legal transparency, allowing citizens to verify exactly how public resources are authorized and spent. The law's public domain status further reinforces democratic principles by guaranteeing unrestricted public access to the rules governing state actions. From a legal research perspective, this statute serves as a historical artifact showing how Brazil's statutory framework has evolved, while its multiple international cataloging identifiers (LOC, GND, BNCF, etc.) make it accessible to comparative law scholars worldwide. The law matters because it exemplifies the statutory law creation process: draft laws led to legislation, which caused this legal act, resulting in statutory law that manifests through formal written documents containing legal norms.

## Notable For
- **Presidential Promulgation:** Specifically promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek on November 30, 1956, marking it as legislation from one of Brazil's most development-focused presidencies
- **Triple-Subject Legislation:** Uniquely addresses three distinct governmental functions in one statute: special budgetary credits, purchasing procedures, and Foreign Ministry provisions
- **LexML Brazil Cataloging:** Assigned the permanent identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991 within Brazil's official legal markup language system
- **WikiProject Inclusion:** Formally listed on the WikiProject Brazilian Laws focus list, indicating active community documentation
- **Multi-System Authority Control:** Carries nine distinct international library and thesaurus identifiers (GND, LOC, BNCF, YSO, HDS, NDL, Art & Architecture Thesaurus, PACTOLS, BabelNet)
- **Public Domain Status:** Exempt from copyright under the edict of government doctrine in multiple jurisdictions, ensuring complete public accessibility
- **Historical Publication Location:** Published in Rio de Janeiro, which was Brazil's capital before the inauguration of Brasília in 1960
- **Schema.org Equivalence:** Serves as a real-world equivalent to the https://schema.org/Legislation class used in semantic web technologies
- **Museum Cataloging Standard:** Assigned specific IDs in the Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging system (13378 for statute, 13377 for act)
- **Dewey Decimal Dual Classification:** Cataloged under both 342.057 and 348.02 in the Dewey Decimal system
- **Google Knowledge Graph Representation:** Indexed with ID /g/120kn55l in Google's structured knowledge base
- **KBpedia Documentation:** Referenced in KBpedia knowledge graph as "Statute" with a 2020-07-09 timestamp

## Body

### Legal Classification and Nature
Law No. 2991 of November 30, 1956 is a statute, which is defined as a formal written document that creates law. As a legal concept, it is classified as an instance of a legal term and a subclass of written work, document, and rule. The statute functions as the manifestation of statutory law and contains legal norms as constituent parts. Its creation follows draft laws and is caused by the act of legislation, ultimately resulting in statutory law. The document is equivalent to the https://schema.org/Legislation class used in structured data on the web, making it a standardized representation of legislative acts in digital systems.

### Promulgation and Executive Authority
The statute was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil through the determination method of promulgation. President Juscelino Kubitschek, who governed Brazil from 1956 to 1961, signed the law on November 30, 1956. This date marks both the promulgation and publication of the statute, which occurred during Kubitschek's first year in office—a period characterized by his "Goals for Brazil" development program and the early planning stages for constructing the new capital, Brasília.

### Publication and Geographic Origin
The law was published in Rio de Janeiro on November 30, 1956. At that time, Rio de Janeiro remained the capital of Brazil, as Brasília would not be inaugurated until April 22, 1960. The publication occurred within the jurisdiction of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a federal republic with a presidential system that had been established under its 1946 Constitution (which was in effect until the 1964 military coup). Brazil, the largest country in South America with an area of 8,515,767 km², was founded as a sovereign state on September 7, 1822, after independence from Portugal.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The statute addresses three primary subjects as documented in its official LexML Brazil entry. First, it regulates special budgetary adjustments, described as "Credito Especial," which authorizes extraordinary credits outside the regular budget. Second, it governs purchasing procedures, identified as "Aquisição," establishing the legal framework for government procurement. Third, it contains specific provisions for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, referred to as "Itamarati (Mre)," the government ministry responsible for Brazil's international relations and diplomatic missions.

### Language and Documentation
The statute is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil spoken by over 213 million people. The law is documented with the legal citation "Lei nº 2991/1956" and is available through multiple official channels. The permanent LexML Brazil identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991 provides a unique, persistent link to the document in Brazil's official legal information system.

### Access and Digital Availability
The full text of Law No. 2991 is publicly available at the URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l2991.htm. This link is maintained by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil through its legislation portal. The availability of the law through this official portal ensures that citizens, legal professionals, and researchers can access the authentic text as originally promulgated.

### Bibliographic and Authority Control
The statute is extensively cataloged in national and international library systems. It holds the Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 and the German Integrated Authority File (GND) ID 4020660-9, where it is categorized as "Gesetz" (Law) or "gesetzliche Regelung" (statutory regulation). The Bibliothèque nationale de France assigns it Thesaurus ID 120485802, while the National Library of Spain catalogs it under ID XX528757 as "Leyes." Additional cataloging includes BNCF Thesaurus ID 7904, YSO ID 4200 (säädökset), HDS ID 030903, and NDL Authority ID 00563423.

### Thesaurus and Knowledge Organization
The Art & Architecture Thesaurus lists two relevant entries: ID 300027891 for "statutes" (acts of a legislature) and ID 300027889 for "legislative acts." The PACTOLS thesaurus assigns ID pcrt2XKbjOmPcT. In museum and cultural heritage contexts, the statute is cataloged under Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging ID 13378 for "statute" and ID 13377 for "act," with a museum_digital_tag_id of 4605. The main category for this topic is "Category:Act."

### Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph Integration
The statute serves as a real-world equivalent to the https://schema.org/Legislation class, enabling its representation in structured data on the web. It is indexed in the Google Knowledge Graph with ID /g/120kn55l and in BabelNet with ID 00050588n. KBpedia references the statute under "Statute" with a 2020-07-09 timestamp. The entity is associated with properties P467, P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681 in knowledge graph systems.

### Wikimedia and Community Documentation
Law No. 2991 is included on the focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative dedicated to documenting Brazilian legislation. This project ensures that Brazilian laws receive proper coverage across Wikimedia platforms. The statute's Wikidata description is "Brazilian law," and it is treated as an instance of the statute class within the Wikidata knowledge base.

### Public Domain and Copyright Status
As an official legal document, Law No. 2991 is in the public domain in the United States under the edict of government doctrine, which holds that judicial opinions, administrative rulings, legislative enactments, and public ordinances are not copyrightable. The same public domain status applies in France. This ensures that the law can be freely reproduced, distributed, and accessed by all citizens without restriction.

### Historical Context in Brazilian Governance
The statute was enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek, who governed Brazil from 1956 to 1961 and is known for his developmentalist policies and the construction of Brasília. Brazil, which had been a Portuguese colony from 1549 until independence in 1822, was operating under its 1946 Constitution when this law was passed. The law represents the legislative output of a democratic period in Brazilian history, preceding the 1964 military coup that established authoritarian rule until 1985.

### Dewey Decimal and Library Classification
The statute concept is classified under Dewey Decimal numbers 342.057 and 348.02, which correspond to legal topics. These classifications enable libraries worldwide to shelve and retrieve legal texts systematically. The dual classification reflects the document's nature as both a general statute and a specific type of legislative act.

### Educational and Encyclopedic Coverage
The concept of statutes is documented in major encyclopedias including the Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia (Volume 8, page 383), the Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary, and Otto's encyclopedia. The Great Russian Encyclopedia references it under portal ID zakon-23ecdb, while the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture includes entry E0022648. Educational resources such as Vikidia (eu:Lege, fr:Loi) and Klexikon (Gesetz) also cover this legal concept.

### Relationship to Broader Legal Concepts
As a statute, Law No. 2991 is part of the broader categories of law and legal act. It follows draft laws in the legislative process and is caused by legislation. The statute is composed of legal norms and results in statutory law. It is distinct from but related to other legal concepts and is differentiated from terms like "Wet" and general concepts of "Law" in knowledge organization systems.

### International Recognition and Equivalents
The statute is recognized globally as a core legal term, with Wikipedia articles in over 100 languages including Aragonese, Arabic, Belarusian, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. This extensive multilingual coverage reflects the universal importance of statutes in legal systems worldwide. The concept is equivalent to legislation in schema.org and is cataloged in numerous international thesauri and authority files.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1956-11-30;2991)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=2991&ano=1956&data=30/11/1956&ato=422MTWU90dNRVT1bd)