# Law No. 3337 of December 12, 1957

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105649202](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105649202)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3337-of-december-12-1957

## Summary
Law No. 3337 of December 12, 1957 is a Brazilian statute that regulates the issuance of letters and obligations of the National Treasury, establishing the legal framework for public financial instruments across federal, state, and municipal levels of government. Promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek in Rio de Janeiro, this law created the basis for Re-adjustable Obligations of the National Treasury (ORTN), which became important inflation-indexed securities in Brazil's public finance system.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 3337, de 12 de dezembro de 1957
- **Publication Date:** December 12, 1957
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Legal Type:** Statute (formal written document that creates law, subclass of written work, document, and rule)
- **Jurisdiction:** Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro (then the capital of Brazil)
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-12-12;3337
- **Official URL:** Available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3337.htm
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3337/1957
- **Primary Subject:** Emission of letters and obligations of the National Treasury
- **Wikimedia Project:** Part of WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Main Subjects Covered:** Municipalities of Brazil, Federal Government of Brazil, Federal District, Bank of Brazil, public treasury, federative units (states), Re-adjustable Obligations of the National Treasury (ORTN), authorization mechanisms, funding, loans, and emission processes
- **Copyright Status:** As a statute, it is in the public domain under the edict of government doctrine in the United States and France
- **Dewey Decimal Classification:** 342.057 and 348.02 (for statutes generally)
- **Authority Identifiers:** GND ID 4020660-9; Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 (for statute class)

## FAQs
**What specific financial instruments did Law No. 3337 create?**  
The law established the legal foundation for "Obrigações Reajustáveis do Tesouro Nacional" (ORTN), which were re-adjustable obligations of the National Treasury. These were inflation-indexed securities that allowed the federal government to raise funds while protecting investors from inflation erosion, representing an innovative approach to public debt management in Brazil's developing economy.

**Who signed Law No. 3337 into effect and what was the political context?**  
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on December 12, 1957, during his administration's ambitious development period marked by the "50 years in 5" growth campaign. This era included massive infrastructure projects and the early planning for Brazil's new capital, Brasília, making efficient public financing mechanisms essential.

**Where can legal researchers access the official text of this law?**  
The full text is publicly available through multiple official channels including the Brazilian Presidency's legislation portal at https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3337&ano=1957 and the permanent URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3337.htm. The law is also indexed in the LexML Brazil system with the persistent identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-12-12;3337.

**What levels of government does this law apply to?**  
The statute explicitly applies to the Federal Government of Brazil ("União Federal"), all federative units ("Estados"), the Federal District ("Distrito Federal"), and municipalities ("Municipios") throughout Brazil. This comprehensive scope ensured uniform standards for treasury obligations across the entire Brazilian federal structure.

**How does this law relate to the Bank of Brazil?**  
Law No. 3337 specifically references the Bank of Brazil ("Banco Do Brasil") within its provisions, indicating the bank's role in the issuance, management, or distribution of the treasury obligations and letters authorized by the statute. The Bank of Brazil, as the country's oldest and historically most important public bank, served as a key financial agent for implementing the law's provisions.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3337 of December 12, 1957 represents a critical piece of Brazil's mid-20th century financial legislation that established systematic mechanisms for public debt management during a period of rapid economic expansion. Its creation of Re-adjustable Obligations of the National Treasury (ORTN) provided the federal government with a flexible tool to finance development projects while managing the challenges of inflation, which would become a persistent feature of Brazil's economy in subsequent decades. The law's comprehensive application across all levels of government—federal, state, and municipal—demonstrated the Kubitschek administration's commitment to centralized financial coordination during an era when Brazil was modernizing its infrastructure and administrative systems. By involving the Bank of Brazil as a key institutional actor, the law reinforced the bank's central role in Brazil's public finance architecture. The statute's inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws highlights its continued relevance for legal historians and researchers studying Brazil's legislative evolution. As a formal statute, it exemplifies the Brazilian legislative process and serves as a concrete manifestation of statutory law, operating within the civil law tradition inherited from Portugal. The law's public domain status ensures that citizens, scholars, and legal practitioners can freely access and analyze this important piece of Brazil's financial legal framework, promoting transparency and the rule of law. Its promulgation in Rio de Janeiro, then the capital, marks it as a product of Brazil's pre-Brasília governmental structure, providing historical insight into the country's administrative geography before the 1960 capital relocation.

## Notable For
- **Historical Timing:** Enacted during Juscelino Kubitschek's presidency (1956-1961), a period of unprecedented developmental ambition in Brazilian history
- **Multi-Level Jurisdiction:** Simultaneously applies to federal, state, municipal, and Federal District governments, representing comprehensive legislative coverage
- **Financial Innovation:** Established ORTNs (Re-adjustable Obligations of the National Treasury), which were pioneering inflation-linked government securities in Brazil's financial market
- **Institutional Integration:** Specifically involves the Bank of Brazil, linking the country's primary public financial institution to treasury operations
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Recognized as significant enough to be included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its importance for legal documentation projects
- **Persistent Identifier:** Assigned a permanent LexML URN (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-12-12;3337) for reliable long-term citation and retrieval
- **Publication Location:** Promulgated in Rio de Janeiro, marking it as legislation from Brazil's former capital era before the 1960 inauguration of Brasília
- **Statutory Classification:** As an instance of "statute," it belongs to a formal class of legal documents that are foundational to Brazil's civil law system and are globally recognized as equivalent to schema.org/Legislation
- **Subject Matter Breadth:** Covers eleven distinct main subjects ranging from municipalities and federative units to specific financial concepts like emission, funding, and loans

## Body

### Legal Nature and Classification
Law No. 3337 of December 12, 1957 is formally classified as a **statute**, which is a specific type of legal document that creates law through formal written enactment. As a statute, it functions as a manifestation of statutory law and represents a subclass of written work, document, and rule within legal taxonomy systems. The law follows draft laws in the legislative process and was caused by the act of legislation under the executive authority of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. This classification places it within a category of legal instruments that result in statutory law and are composed of legal norms. Globally, the concept of a statute is recognized as equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class, facilitating its integration into structured data systems. The statute is cataloged under Dewey Decimal classifications 342.057 and 348.02, and holds authority control identifiers including GND ID 4020660-9 and Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611.

### Promulgation and Historical Context
The law was promulgated on **December 12, 1957** by President **Juscelino Kubitschek**, who served as the 21st President of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. The promulgation occurred in **Rio de Janeiro**, which was then the capital of Brazil (Brasília would become the capital on April 21, 1960). This timing places the law within Kubitschek's ambitious development program that included the construction of Brasília and the "50 years in 5" economic growth initiative. The determination method for the law's enactment is recorded as "promulgation," indicating it became effective through presidential signature rather than legislative override. The law's creation was preceded by draft laws within Brazil's legislative process, and its enactment represents a formal legal act of the federal government.

### Scope and Jurisdictional Application
Law No. 3337 applies to the entire jurisdictional territory of the **Federative Republic of Brazil**, encompassing all levels of government within the Brazilian federal system. The law explicitly names multiple governmental entities as subjects:
- **Municipios** (municipalities of Brazil)
- **União Federal** (Federal Government of Brazil)
- **Estados** (federative units of Brazil)
- **Distrito Federal (Df)** (Federal District)
- **Banco Do Brasil** (Bank of Brazil)

This comprehensive scope ensures that provisions regarding treasury obligations and letters apply uniformly across Brazil's complex federal structure, which includes 26 states plus the Federal District, and over 5,500 municipalities.

### Financial Instruments and Provisions
The law's digest states it "DISPÕE SOBRE A EMISSÃO DE LETRAS E OBRIGAÇÕES DO TESOURO NACIONAL, E DA OUTRAS PROVIDENCIAS" (Regulates the issuance of letters and obligations of the National Treasury, and other provisions). Among its most significant creations were the **Obrigações Reajustáveis do Tesouro Nacional (ORTN)**, or Re-adjustable Obligations of the National Treasury. These were inflation-indexed government securities that adjusted their value according to inflation indices, representing an important innovation in Brazil's public debt management. The law also addresses:
- **Emissão** (emission/issuance processes)
- **Autorização** (authorization mechanisms)
- **Financiamento** (funding arrangements)
- **Emprestimo** (loans)
- **Tesouro Nacional** (public treasury operations)

### Institutional Implementation
The **Bank of Brazil (Banco Do Brasil)** is specifically named as a key institution within the law's framework. As Brazil's oldest public bank and primary financial agent for the federal government, the Bank of Brazil would have played a central role in implementing the law's provisions regarding the issuance and management of treasury obligations. The law's provisions for "letras" (letters) and "obrigações" (obligations) would have established the Bank's authority to act as issuer, registrar, or distributor of these government securities.

### Documentation and Accessibility
The law is extensively documented across multiple Brazilian government and legal information systems:
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-12-12;3337 provides a permanent, standardized identifier
- **Official URL:** The text remains accessible at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l3337.htm through the Civilian House of the Presidency
- **Legal Citation:** Standardized as "Lei nº 3337/1957" for legal referencing
- **Wikimedia Integration:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating active curation by the Wikimedia community
- **Publication Records:** The law is recorded in the Brazilian Presidency's legislation database with reference number 518ETWE1kMNRVTc30

### Language and Textual Characteristics
The law is written in **Brazilian Portuguese**, the official language of Brazil. As a formal statute, its text follows the conventions of Brazilian legislative drafting, using technical legal and financial terminology. The title includes the law number (3337), the date (12 de dezembro de 1957), and follows the standard citation format used throughout Brazil's legal system. The law digest uses uppercase lettering typical of Brazilian official gazettes, a formatting convention for legislative texts.

### Public Domain and Scholarly Access
As a statute, Law No. 3337 benefits from public domain status under the edict of government doctrine, which establishes that official legal documents are not subject to copyright restrictions. This ensures free access for citizens, legal practitioners, and researchers. The law's indexing in library systems through Dewey Decimal classifications and authority control identifiers (GND, Library of Congress) facilitates scholarly research and cross-referencing in international legal studies. Its inclusion in the LexML system demonstrates Brazil's commitment to open legislative data and permanent access to legal norms.

### Connection to Brazil's Federal System
The law reflects Brazil's federal structure, which divides power between the Union, states, and municipalities. By explicitly naming municipalities, states, the Federal District, and the Federal Government, the statute creates a unified framework for treasury operations across all levels. This approach was particularly important during the 1950s when Brazil was modernizing its public administration and financial systems. The reference to "Combate" (battle) as a main subject suggests the law may have included provisions related to extraordinary financial measures or emergency funding mechanisms, though the specific context would require examination of the full legislative text.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1957-12-12;3337)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3337&ano=1957&data=12/12/1957&ato=518ETWE1kMNRVTc30)
3. LexML Brasil