# Law No. 3523 of January 3, 1959

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648506](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648506)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3523-of-january-3-1959

## Summary

Law No. 3523 of January 3, 1959 is a Brazilian federal statute enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek that authorizes a special budgetary adjustment (*Crédito Especial*) for the Ministry of Education. Published in Rio de Janeiro on the date of its enactment, it serves as a formal written legal document classified as a statute, applicable to the entire jurisdiction of Brazil. The law is officially cited as Lei nº 3523/1959 and is accessible through Brazilian government legal repositories.

## Key Facts

- **Full Title:** Lei nº 3523, de 3 de janeiro de 1959
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3523/1959
- **Enactment Date:** January 3, 1959
- **Document Type:** Statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgated By:** Juscelino Kubitschek (President of Brazil, 1956–1961)
- **Method of Approval:** Promulgation
- **Country:** Brazil
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil (federal level)
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Main Subjects:**
  - Special budgetary adjustment (*Crédito Especial*)
  - Ministry of Education (*Ministério da Educação* / MEC)
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-01-03;3523
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3523.htm
- **Wikimedia Project:** Listed on WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs

**What is the purpose of Law No. 3523 of January 3, 1959?**
This law authorizes a special budgetary adjustment (*Crédito Especial*) specifically for the Ministry of Education (*Ministério da Educação*). It represents a federal allocation mechanism to address funding needs within Brazil's education sector.

**Who approved and promulgated this law?**
The law was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil and promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek on January 3, 1959, during his presidential term (1956–1961).

**Where was this law published and in what language?**
Law No. 3523 was published in Rio de Janeiro, which served as Brazil's federal capital until April 1960. The law is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.

**How is this law classified in Brazilian legal documentation?**
The law is classified as a statute—a formal written document that creates law—and is registered under the Lexml Brazil identification system with the URN: urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-01-03;3523. It is also tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws on Wikimedia projects.

## Why It Matters

Law No. 3523 of January 3, 1959 represents an important instrument of federal budgetary management during a transformative period in Brazilian history. Enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek—whose administration (1956–1961) was characterized by ambitious development programs, industrialization efforts, and the construction of the new capital, Brasília—this statute reflects the government's use of special credit mechanisms to fund priority areas such as education.

The law demonstrates the operational mechanics of Brazilian federal legislation: it follows the statutory process where a formal written document is promulgated by the executive branch to create binding legal authority for specific budgetary allocations. The use of a *Crédito Especial* (special credit) indicates a supplementary or extraordinary budgetary provision beyond the ordinary budget cycle, often necessary to address emergent or specific funding requirements.

From a legal-documentary perspective, this law exemplifies the structure of Brazilian federal statutes, complete with standardized citation formats, Lexml registration, and official publication in the federal gazette. Its availability through the Planalto Palace website ensures public accessibility, consistent with the principle that statutes—being edicts of government—exist in the public domain for citizen access.

The law's subject matter—the Ministry of Education—positions it within the broader context of Brazilian educational policy. During the late 1950s, Brazil was investing in educational infrastructure and capacity as part of its modernization agenda, and laws like No. 3523 provided the legal and financial framework for such investments.

## Notable For

- **Kubitschek Era Legislation:** Enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek, one of Brazil's most development-focused leaders, known for his "Fifty Years in Five" modernization program and the building of Brasília
- **Pre-Brasília Publication:** Published in Rio de Janeiro, the federal capital at the time, approximately 16 months before Brasília became the new capital on April 22, 1960
- **Special Budgetary Mechanism:** Uses the *Crédito Especial* (special credit) instrument, a specific Brazilian budgetary tool for extraordinary allocations
- **Education Sector Focus:** Specifically targets funding for the Ministry of Education (*Ministério da Educação* / MEC), highlighting education as a government priority during this developmental period
- **Lexml Registration:** Assigned a standardized URN identifier (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-01-03;3523) under Brazil's legal XML metadata system
- **WikiProject Coverage:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its documentation within structured Wikimedia initiatives
- **Public Accessibility:** Available online through the official Planalto government portal, ensuring public access to the legal text
- **Statutory Classification:** Classified as a statute, the foundational legal document type that manifests statutory law in formal written form

## Body

### Legal Classification and Document Type

Law No. 3523 of January 3, 1959 is formally classified as a **statute**—a formal written document that creates law. In the hierarchy of legal instruments, a statute serves as a manifestation of statutory law and contains legal norms as its constituent parts. Statutes represent one of the primary mechanisms through which government authority is formally exercised and recorded, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws within their broader category.

As a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule," this statute exists as the tangible expression of a legal mandate. It was created through the legislative process, preceded by draft laws, and caused by the act of legislation itself. The statute applies comprehensively to the jurisdiction of Brazil at the federal level.

### Historical and Political Context

The law was enacted on January 3, 1959, during a pivotal moment in Brazilian political history. **Juscelino Kubitschek** served as President of Brazil from 1956 to 1961, a period marked by rapid industrialization, economic development, and ambitious infrastructure projects. Kubitschek's administration is particularly remembered for constructing Brasília, the new federal capital, which would officially replace Rio de Janeiro on April 22, 1960—just 16 months after this law's enactment.

The law was promulgated through the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil**, with Kubitschek as the approving authority. The method of approval was promulgation, a formal act that publishes and validates the law, making it binding and effective. At the time of enactment, Brazil operated as a federal republic with a presidential system of representative democracy, governed under the 1946 constitution (which preceded the current 1988 constitution).

Rio de Janeiro, listed as the place of publication, was then the federal capital and the center of government operations. This detail firmly situates the law in the pre-Brasília era of Brazilian governance.

### Subject Matter and Purpose

Law No. 3523 addresses two main subjects as documented in the structured data:

1. **Special Budgetary Adjustment (*Crédito Especial*):** The law authorizes a special credit allocation, which in Brazilian public finance represents an extraordinary or supplementary budgetary provision. Special credits are typically used when unforeseen expenses arise or when specific funding needs cannot be addressed through the ordinary budget process. This mechanism allows the government to allocate additional resources beyond what was originally appropriated in the annual budget law.

2. **Ministry of Education (*Ministério da Educação* / MEC):** The beneficiary of this special credit is the Ministry of Education, Brazil's federal body responsible for national educational policy, oversight, and funding. During the Kubitschek era, education was a priority sector as Brazil sought to develop human capital alongside physical infrastructure. The MEC's inclusion as the subject of this funding allocation underscores the government's investment in educational capacity during this developmental phase.

### Publication and Accessibility

The law was **published on January 3, 1959**—the same date as its enactment—in **Rio de Janeiro**. Publication in the official venue is a constitutional requirement in Brazil to give legal force to statutes. The language of the document is **Brazilian Portuguese**, the sole official language of Brazil and the variant of Portuguese used in all federal legal instruments.

The full text of Law No. 3523 is publicly accessible through the official government portal at the Planalto Palace website:
- **URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3523.htm

This accessibility aligns with the broader principle that statutes, as edicts of government, are public domain documents. Citizens have unrestricted access to the laws that govern them, a foundational element of the rule of law and transparent governance.

### Official Identifiers and Registration

Law No. 3523 is registered in multiple official and structured data systems:

- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-01-03;3523
  - This URN (Uniform Resource Name) follows the Lexml standard used in Brazil for identifying and exchanging legal documents electronically. The identifier encodes the jurisdiction (federal), document type (lei/law), date (1959-01-03), and law number (3523).

- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3523/1959
  - The standard citation format used in Brazilian legal practice and academic writing.

- **Wikidata:** The entity is documented in Wikidata, a free knowledge base that structures data for Wikimedia projects and beyond.

- **WikiProject Brazilian Laws:** The law is listed on this Wikimedia project, which aims to improve coverage of Brazilian legislation across Wikipedia and related projects.

### Jurisdiction and Applicability

Law No. 3523 applies to the jurisdiction of **Brazil** in its entirety. As a federal statute (*lei federal*), it has force throughout the national territory, which spans approximately 8.5 million km² and encompasses all 26 states plus the Federal District (though at the time of enactment, the number of states and territorial organization differed from the current structure).

Brazil, as the applicable jurisdiction, was at this time a federal republic with its capital in Rio de Janeiro. The country shared borders with ten neighboring nations (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela) and operated under a presidential system of government with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

### Connection to the Statute as a Legal Concept

As an instance of a **statute**, Law No. 3523 embodies the characteristics of this document type:

- It is a formal written document that creates law
- It serves as a manifestation of statutory law
- It contains legal norms as constituent parts
- It resulted from the legislative process (preceded by draft laws and caused by legislation)
- It exists in the public domain as an official government document
- It functions as the definitive reference point for the specific legal rules it establishes

Statutes are cataloged in major library classification systems and recognized globally as a core legal concept, documented in encyclopedias and authority control systems including the Library of Congress, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the German National Library.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1959-01-03;3523)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3523&ano=1959&data=03/01/1959&ato=b5aQTUE5UMRRVTaa0)