# Law No. 3117 of March 25, 1957

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105649079](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105649079)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3117-of-march-25-1957

## Summary
Law No. 3117 of March 25, 1957 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek that authorized a special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) for health-related expenses in the state of Ceará, specifically involving the Ministry of Health and the municipality of Fortaleza. This law represents a specific federal financial intervention in regional health infrastructure during Brazil's mid-20th century development period.

## Key Facts
- **Legal Type:** Federal statute (lei federal) enacted under Brazilian law
- **Official Number:** Lei nº 3117, de 25 de março de 1957
- **Promulgation Date:** March 25, 1957
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, specifically President Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies to the entire federative jurisdiction of Brazil
- **Primary Subject:** Special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) for health expenditures
- **Geographic Focus:** State of Ceará (Estado Do Ceara) and its capital municipality Fortaleza
- **Government Entity:** Ministry of Health of Brazil (Ministerio Da Saude)
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3117/1957
- **Lexml Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-03-25;3117
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Full Text URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3117.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Instance Classification:** statute (formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws)

## FAQs
**What is Law No. 3117 of March 25, 1957?**
Law No. 3117 is a Brazilian federal statute that authorized special credit for health-related expenses, targeting the state of Ceará and its capital Fortaleza during President Kubitschek's administration.

**Who signed this law into effect?**
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on March 25, 1957, as recorded by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil with determination method listed as "promulgation."

**Which Brazilian state does this law specifically address?**
The law specifically names Ceará (Estado Do Ceara) and its capital city Fortaleza as the geographic beneficiaries of the special budgetary adjustment.

**What government ministry is involved in this legislation?**
The Ministry of Health of Brazil (Ministerio Da Saude) is explicitly referenced as the federal entity associated with this special credit authorization.

**Where can the original text of this law be found?**
The complete text is publicly available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3117.htm, maintained by the Brazilian federal government.

**What does "Credito Especial" mean in the context of this law?**
"Credito Especial" translates to "Special Credit," indicating a budgetary adjustment or extraordinary allocation of funds beyond the regular budget, specifically designated for health purposes in the referenced jurisdictions.

**How is this law classified in Brazil's legal system?**
It is classified as a federal statute (lei federal), which is a formal written document that creates law at the national level, distinct from state or municipal legislation.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3117 of March 25, 1957 matters because it exemplifies the federal government's direct financial intervention in regional health infrastructure during a pivotal era of Brazilian development. Enacted under President Juscelino Kubitschek's administration—a period marked by the ambitious "Target Plan" (Plano de Metas) and rapid modernization—the law demonstrates how the federal executive used special credit mechanisms to address immediate health needs in specific states. Its focus on Ceará and Fortaleza reveals a targeted approach to resource distribution, ensuring that federal health funding could be rapidly deployed to municipalities facing particular challenges. The law's structure as a "Credito Especial" shows Brazil's budgetary flexibility mechanisms, allowing extraordinary allocations outside the standard annual budget process. As a statute, it carries the full weight of federal law, making it a binding instrument that obligated the Ministry of Health to execute the specified financial adjustments. The law's preservation in Brazil's official legislative archive and its inclusion in the LexML identification system ensures its continued accessibility for legal research, historical analysis, and precedent examination. For scholars of Brazilian administrative law, it provides concrete evidence of how the federal government balanced centralized fiscal control with targeted regional support during the mid-20th century. The law also reflects the constitutional framework of Brazil's federative system, where the Union can directly allocate resources to states and municipalities, bypassing intermediate bureaucratic layers. Its specificity—naming exact geographic locations and government entities—makes it a precise instrument rather than a general policy statement, which is characteristic of Brazilian budgetary legislation from this period.

## Notable For
- **Presidential Promulgation:** Signed by President Juscelino Kubitschek, a key figure in Brazil's mid-20th century modernization
- **Special Credit Mechanism:** Utilized the "Credito Especial" budgetary instrument, an extraordinary allocation outside regular budget cycles
- **Geographic Specificity:** Uniquely targets the state of Ceará and its capital Fortaleza rather than applying nationwide
- **Health Sector Focus:** Dedicated exclusively to health expenditures through the Ministry of Health
- **Federal-Municipal Direct Link:** Creates direct financial relationship between federal government and municipal jurisdiction
- **Lexml Cataloging:** Bears the standardized identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-03-25;3117 in Brazil's legal markup language system
- **Historical Era:** Represents legislative activity during Brazil's "Target Plan" development period (1956-1961)
- **Publication Location:** Published in Rio de Janeiro, then the federal capital before Brasília's inauguration in 1960
- **Statutory Classification:** Classified as a statute, making it a formal written document that creates law, distinct from executive orders or by-laws
- **Public Domain Status:** As a Brazilian federal statute, it is in the public domain under the edict of government doctrine, freely accessible and reproducible

## Body

### Legal Classification and Nature
Law No. 3117 of March 25, 1957 is formally classified as a **statute** under Brazilian law. In legal taxonomy, a statute is a formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. It functions as a manifestation of statutory law and is composed of legal norms. The creation of this law was preceded by draft laws and caused by the legislative act of promulgation. As a federal statute, it represents the official record of a legal rule enacted by Brazil's national government and applies to the entire federative jurisdiction. The law is an instance of statutory law, differentiated from general legislation in knowledge systems by its specific classification as a subclass of written work, document, and rule. Its copyright status falls under the public domain in Brazil, consistent with the edict of government doctrine that establishes official legal documents as non-copyrightable.

### Historical and Political Context
The law was promulgated on **March 25, 1957**, during the presidency of **Juscelino Kubitschek** (1956-1961). This period was characterized by the "Plano de Metas" (Target Plan), a development program aiming to advance Brazil by 50 years in five years. The law's enactment date places it early in Kubitschek's term, when his administration was actively using federal resources to stimulate regional development. The promulgation method was direct presidential action, as recorded by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The law was published in **Rio de Janeiro**, which served as Brazil's federal capital until the inauguration of Brasília on April 22, 1960. This timing places the law within the final years of Rio de Janeiro's status as the seat of federal power.

### Geographic and Administrative Scope
The law's provisions specifically target the **state of Ceará**, identified in the text as "Estado Do Ceara (Ce)". Within Ceará, the law further specifies the **municipality of Fortaleza**, labeled as "Fortaleza (Ce)". This dual geographic targeting—state and municipal levels—demonstrates the law's precision in directing federal resources. The law applies to Brazil's entire jurisdiction as a federal statute, but its substantive provisions concern these specific subnational entities. Ceará is a northeastern Brazilian state, and Fortaleza is its capital and largest city, making this law an example of federal support for a major urban center in Brazil's historically less-developed Northeast region.

### Subject Matter and Budgetary Mechanism
The law's primary subject is **special budgetary adjustment**, explicitly stated as "Credito Especial" in the legislative text. This mechanism allows for extraordinary budget allocations beyond the regular annual budget, typically used for urgent or unforeseen expenditures. The law authorizes this special credit for **health-related purposes**, making it a health sector intervention. The **Ministry of Health of Brazil** (Ministerio Da Saude) is the designated federal agency responsible for executing the provisions. The law's focus on health expenditures during the Kubitschek era aligns with broader development goals that included infrastructure, industry, and social services.

### Publication and Accessibility Details
The law was officially published in **Rio de Janeiro** on March 25, 1957. Its full text remains accessible through the official Brazilian government portal at **https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3117.htm**, maintained by the Presidency of the Republic. The law is cataloged in Brazil's **LexML** system with the unique identifier **urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-03-25;3117**. LexML is Brazil's legal markup language system for standardizing legal document identification. The law is written in **Brazilian Portuguese**, the official language of Brazil. The **legal citation** format is standardized as "Lei nº 3117/1957".

### Technical Specifications and Identifiers
The law carries multiple authoritative identifiers across knowledge systems:
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-03-25;3117
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3117/1957
- **Wikidata Classification:** Instance of "statute" with description "Brazilian law"
- **Publication Date:** 1957-03-25 (point in time)
- **Promulgation Method:** Presidential promulgation
- **Geographic Qualifiers:** "Estado Do Ceara (Ce)", "Fortaleza (Ce)", "Ministerio Da Saude (Ms)", "Municipio"

### Relationship to Brazilian Federal Structure
As a federal statute, the law operates within Brazil's federative system, where the Union holds authority to legislate on matters of national interest. The law exemplifies vertical fiscal relations, where the federal government directly allocates resources to subnational entities. This bypasses intermediate bureaucratic layers and creates direct obligations for the Ministry of Health to disburse funds. The law's structure reflects Brazil's constitutional framework, where states and municipalities have autonomy but remain subject to federal legislation. The specific naming of Ceará and Fortaleza indicates that the special credit was not a general health funding increase but a targeted intervention for particular jurisdictions.

### Preservation and Legal Status
The law remains in effect as part of Brazil's permanent legislative corpus. Its inclusion in the Planalto.gov.br digital archive ensures long-term preservation and public access. As a statute, it is considered a **formal written document** that creates law, distinct from executive orders or by-laws, though all three fall under the statute classification. The law's public domain status means it can be freely reproduced, distributed, and analyzed without copyright restriction. This accessibility supports transparency in government budgeting and allows researchers to trace the evolution of Brazil's health financing mechanisms. The law's Wikidata entry and Lexml identification facilitate its discovery in structured data queries and legal research databases.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-03-25;3117)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3117&ano=1957&data=25/03/1957&ato=03bATSq5UMNRVT969)