# Law No. 3754 of April 14, 1960

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648764](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648764)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3754-of-april-14-1960

## Summary
Law No. 3754 of April 14, 1960 is a Brazilian statute that establishes the judicial organization for the Federal District of Brasília, enacted by President Juscelino Kubitschek just days before the new capital's inauguration on April 21, 1960. This federal law, published in Rio de Janeiro, created the legal framework for the court system in the newly constructed capital district, representing a critical component of Brazil's historic capital relocation project.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 3754, de 14 de abril de 1960
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3754/1960
- **Promulgation Date:** April 14, 1960
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Determination Method:** Promulgation (as specified in approval qualifiers)
- **Country of Origin:** Brazil
- **Jurisdictional Application:** Brazil (federal level)
- **Place of Publication:** Rio de Janeiro
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Main Subject:** Federal District (Distrito Federal, DF)
- **Legal Digest:** DISPÕE SOBRE A ORGANIZAÇÃO JUDICIARIA DO DISTRITO FEDERAL DE BRASILIA, E DA OUTRAS PROVIDENCIAS. (Regulates the Judicial Organization of the Federal District of Brasília, and Other Provisions)
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of "statute" (formal written document that creates law)
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-04-14;3754
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3754.htm
- **Wikimedia Project:** On focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Statute Classification:** Subclass of written work, document, and rule; manifestation of statutory law
- **Copyright Status:** Public domain in United States and France under edict of government doctrine
- **Dewey Decimal Classification:** 342.057 and 348.02
- **GND ID:** 4020660-9 (German National Library identifier)
- **Library of Congress Authority ID:** sh85127611
- **Equivalent Class:** https://schema.org/Legislation

## FAQs
**What was Law No. 3754 of 1960?**
Law No. 3754 of April 14, 1960 is a Brazilian federal statute that established the judicial organization and court system for the newly created Federal District of Brasília, providing the legal infrastructure for the capital's judiciary just before Brasília's official inauguration.

**Who signed this law and what was the historical timing?**
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on April 14, 1960, exactly one week before Brasília was inaugurated as Brazil's new capital on April 21, 1960, making it a crucial last-minute legal foundation for the capital's governance structure.

**What specific jurisdiction does this law address?**
The law exclusively addresses the Federal District (Distrito Federal, DF), which comprises the federal capital territory of Brasília, establishing its judicial framework as distinct from Brazil's 26 states.

**Where can the original text be accessed?**
The complete text is publicly available at the official Planalto government website: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3754.htm, and is cataloged in the LexML system with the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-04-14;3754.

**Why was this law published in Rio de Janeiro instead of Brasília?**
The law was published in Rio de Janeiro because Brasília had not yet officially become the functioning capital; Rio de Janeiro remained the administrative seat of government until the capital transition was completed on April 21, 1960.

**What type of legal document is this under Brazilian law?**
This is a "lei" (statute), which is a formal written document that creates law, classified as a subclass of written work and rule, and serves as the manifestation of statutory law in Brazil's legal system.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3754 of April 14, 1960 represents a pivotal legal instrument in one of Brazil's most ambitious nation-building projects—the construction and inauguration of Brasília as the new capital. Its significance extends beyond mere administrative procedure; it embodies the concrete realization of President Juscelino Kubitschek's developmentalist vision and the legal formalization of a new spatial and political order for Brazil. By establishing the judicial organization for the Federal District just days before the capital's activation, the law ensured that the new seat of government would have immediate functional courts, judges, and legal procedures, preventing a governance vacuum during the historic transition from Rio de Janeiro. This timing was critical—without a pre-established judiciary, the new capital would have lacked the legal infrastructure necessary to handle disputes, enforce laws, and maintain order from day one of its operation.

The law matters because it demonstrates how legal frameworks must anticipate and enable political and geographic transformations. As a federal statute, it created statutory law that applied specifically to the Federal District, distinguishing the capital's judicial system from both state and federal court structures elsewhere in Brazil. Its enactment through presidential promulgation under Kubitschek's administration reflects the concentration of executive authority required to execute such a massive undertaking. The law's public domain status ensures that citizens, lawyers, and scholars can freely access and analyze this foundational text, reinforcing transparency in governance. Moreover, the law's inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws highlights its recognized importance for documenting Brazil's legislative history. The statute's existence enabled the immediate functioning of a complete judicial branch in Brasília, allowing the Supreme Federal Court and other federal courts to operate within a properly constituted district court system, thus maintaining the separation of powers during a period of unprecedented institutional change.

## Notable For
- **Precise Timing:** Promulgated exactly seven days before Brasília's inauguration, making it one of the last legal acts completed in the old capital for the new capital's benefit
- **Capital Transition Instrument:** Directly enabled the functional transfer of Brazil's seat of government by pre-establishing the judicial system before the physical move
- **Federal District Specificity:** Creates a unique judicial organization applicable only to the Federal District, not to Brazil's states or other federal territories
- **Developmentalist Era Product:** Embodies President Kubitschek's "50 years in 5" development agenda through its role in the Brasília project
- **Public Domain Accessibility:** As a government edict, the text is freely reproducible and distributable without copyright restrictions in multiple jurisdictions
- **LexML Standardization:** Cataloged under Brazil's official URN:Lex standard (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-04-14;3754) for permanent legal document identification
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its recognized importance for digital preservation of Brazilian legislation
- **Historical Publication Location:** Published in Rio de Janeiro while the government was still physically located there, capturing a moment of transition in Brazilian administrative history
- **Statutory Law Manifestation:** Serves as a concrete example of how abstract legislative authority becomes tangible written law that structures government institutions
- **Multilingual Encyclopedia Coverage:** The underlying statute concept appears in over 100 Wikipedia language editions, demonstrating the global standardization of this legal form

## Body

### Legal Classification and Nature
Law No. 3754 of April 14, 1960 is formally classified as a **statute** under Brazilian law, which designates it as a formal written document that creates law. As a statute, it belongs to the broader category of legal instruments that include acts passed by legislatures, executive orders, and by-laws. Taxonomically, this law is a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule," distinguishing it from abstract concepts of legislation while representing the concrete manifestation of statutory law. The document contains legal norms as constituent parts and functions as a component of both the broader legal system and specific legal acts. Its creation followed draft law procedures and was caused by the legislative process culminating in presidential promulgation. The resulting statutory law applies exclusively within Brazil's jurisdiction, specifically targeting the Federal District territory.

### Historical and Political Context
The statute emerged during a transformative period in Brazilian history under the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek (1956-1961), whose administration pursued an aggressive development agenda summarized by the slogan "50 years of progress in 5." The law's promulgation on April 14, 1960 occurred precisely one week before Brasília's inauguration on April 21, 1960, positioning it as a final preparatory legal act for the capital transfer. At that time, Brazil operated as a federal republic with a presidential system, and the government remained physically headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, the former capital, until the formal transition. Rio de Janeiro therefore served as the place of publication, reflecting the administrative reality of the moment. The law represents one component of a comprehensive legislative package required to create functional governance institutions in a city built from scratch on the Brazilian highlands plateau.

### Content and Scope
The statute's legal digest explicitly states its purpose: "DISPÕE SOBRE A ORGANIZAÇÃO JUDICIARIA DO DISTRITO FEDERAL DE BRASILIA, E DA OUTRAS PROVIDENCIAS." This translates to regulating the judicial organization of the Federal District of Brasília and establishing other provisions necessary for court operations. The main subject is the Federal District (Distrito Federal, DF), which comprises the uniquely constituted federal territory containing the capital city. Unlike state-level judicial organizations, this federal district judiciary operates under direct federal authority while handling local matters. The law's provisions would have addressed court structures, judge appointments, jurisdictional boundaries, procedural rules, and the integration of the district judiciary with Brazil's federal appellate system, including the Superior Court of Justice and the Supreme Federal Court.

### Publication and Documentation
The law was officially published in Rio de Janeiro on April 14, 1960, as documented by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil's legislative records. The official citation "Lei nº 3754/1960" provides the standard reference format used by Brazilian lawyers, courts, and scholars. The complete text remains accessible through the official government portal at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3754.htm, ensuring continuous public access. The document is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, and uses the formal legal terminology characteristic of mid-20th century Brazilian legislation. The publication date qualifier (point_in_time: 1960-04-14) is recorded with precision in official registries.

### Technical Identification and Cataloging
The law carries a standardized LexML Brazil identifier: urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-04-14;3754. This Uniform Resource Name follows the URN:Lex standard, providing a permanent, location-independent identifier for the legal document. The identifier structure breaks down as: urn:lex (LexML namespace), br (country code), federal (federal jurisdiction), lei (document type: law), 1960-04-14 (date), and 3754 (number). As a statute, the law is classified under Dewey Decimal codes 342.057 (constitutional and administrative law) and 348.02 (laws, statutes, and case law). The German National Library assigns GND ID 4020660-9 to the statute concept, while the Library of Congress uses Authority ID sh85127611. These identifiers facilitate international bibliographic control and cross-referencing.

### Copyright and Accessibility Status
As an official legislative enactment of the Brazilian federal government, Law No. 3754 falls under the "edict of government doctrine," placing it in the public domain in the United States and France. This legal principle establishes that official texts of judicial opinions, administrative rulings, legislative enactments, and public ordinances are not copyrightable due to public policy requiring unrestricted citizen access to governing laws. Consequently, the text can be freely reproduced, distributed, and analyzed without restriction. This status aligns with the statute's role as a manifestation of statutory law that must remain accessible to all governed parties. The law's availability at the Planalto website and its inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws further demonstrates commitment to open access.

### Jurisdictional and Geographic Specificity
The law applies exclusively to Brazil's jurisdiction at the federal level, specifically targeting the Federal District rather than any of Brazil's 26 states. This geographic specificity reflects the unique constitutional status of the Federal District, which is neither a state nor a municipality but a special administrative unit directly administered by the federal government. The law_digest's reference to "DISTRITO FEDERAL DE BRASILIA" indicates the statute's focus on creating a judicial organization suited to this novel territorial entity. The stated_as qualifier "Distrito Federal (Df)" in the main_subject field confirms the standard abbreviation used in official Brazilian documentation.

### Digital Preservation and Semantic Web Integration
The statute is formally tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative dedicated to documenting and preserving Brazilian legislative history. This project ensures the law's digital preservation and facilitates its discovery through Wikipedia and related platforms. In semantic web contexts, the statute concept is equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class, enabling structured data markup for machine-readable legal information. The law's properties align with Wikidata properties including P467 (applies to jurisdiction), P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681, though specific values for these properties are not detailed in the source material. The Google Knowledge Graph recognizes the statute concept with ID /g/120kn55l, while BabelNet assigns ID 00050588n, integrating Brazilian legislation into global knowledge bases.

### Relationship to Broader Legal Framework
As a statute, Law No. 3754 functions as a component part of Brazil's legal system and legal act structure. It contains legal norms that constitute the operational rules for the Federal District judiciary. The law's creation was caused by legislation, following draft law procedures within Brazil's National Congress. The resulting statutory law became part of the permanent legal framework governing Brazil's capital territory. The law's promulgation by President Kubitschek on the specified date represents the final legislative act that transformed draft provisions into binding legal rules. This process exemplifies how statutory law manifests through formal written documents that create concrete institutional structures.

### Historical Legacy and Institutional Impact
The statute's enactment enabled the immediate operational capacity of Brasília's judicial system upon the capital's inauguration, preventing legal paralysis during the government transition. By pre-establishing court organization, the law allowed judges, prosecutors, and court staff to assume their duties in newly constructed judicial buildings from the capital's first day of function. This foresight ensured continuity of legal services for government agencies, diplomatic missions, and residents relocating to the new capital. The law remains part of the historical record of Brazil's mid-20th century modernization, illustrating how legal instruments facilitate large-scale national projects. Its preservation in digital archives and its cataloging in international library systems ensure that researchers can trace the institutional origins of Brasília's judiciary to this specific legislative act.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-04-14;3754)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3754&ano=1960&data=14/04/1960&ato=fafAzYq50dVRVTb99)
3. LexML Brasil