# Law No. 3777 of June 24, 1960

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648830](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648830)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3777-of-june-24-1960

## Summary
Law No. 3777 of June 24, 1960 (Portuguese: Lei nº 3777, de 24 de junho de 1960) is a Brazilian federal statute enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek. Promulgated in Brasília, it establishes a special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) specifically designated for the Ministry of Education. The law is classified as a formal written document creating law (statute) and applies to the jurisdiction of Brazil.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 3777, de 24 de junho de 1960
- **Also Known As:** Lei nº 3777/1960 (legal citation format)
- **Type of Instrument:** Statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Date of Promulgation:** June 24, 1960
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgating President:** Juscelino Kubitschek (as of June 24, 1960)
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil)
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Main Subjects:**
  - Special budgetary adjustment (stated as "Credito Especial")
  - Ministry of Education (stated as "Ministerio Da Educação (Mec)")
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-06-24;3777
- **Official Online Source:** Available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3777.htm
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** Listed on WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs
**What is the primary purpose of Law No. 3777 of June 24, 1960?**
This Brazilian federal law authorizes a special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) for the Ministry of Education. It is a financial legislative act focused on allocating specific resources to the education sector within Brazil.

**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 June 24, 1960, in the capital city of Brasília.

**Where can the official text of this law be found?**
The official text is available online via the Brazilian government's planalto.gov.br portal (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3777.htm) and is indexed in the LexML Brazil system with the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-06-24;3777.

**What type of legal document is this?**
Law No. 3777 is classified as a statute, which is a formal written document enacted to create law. It functions as a legal norm and is a manifestation of statutory law, falling under the broader category of a legal act.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3777 of June 24, 1960, represents a specific instance of federal budgetary legislation in Brazil directed towards the critical sector of education. Enacted by President Juscelino Kubitschek, whose administration was known for its focus on development and modernization, this law illustrates the executive branch's use of special budgetary adjustments (Creditos Especiais) as a financial tool to allocate resources. Such laws are foundational to the operation of government, translating policy priorities into tangible fiscal commitments. As a statute, it serves as the concrete, written evidence of a legal rule—statutory law—governing the allocation of public funds, thereby ensuring that specific financial needs of the Ministry of Education are met through formal legislative process. Its existence as a publicly accessible legal document also reinforces the principle of open governance, allowing citizens to track how state resources are legally authorized and allocated.

## Notable For
- **Historical Context:** Enacted during the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek, a period marked by significant national development initiatives and the construction of the new capital, Brasília.
- **Specific Budgetary Mechanism:** The law utilizes a "special budgetary adjustment" (Credito Especial), a specific type of financial authorization in Brazilian public administration.
- **Targeted Sectoral Focus:** The law is exclusively focused on providing funds to the Ministry of Education (MEC), highlighting a governmental priority for the education sector at that time.
- **Capital City Publication:** Published in Brasília, which had only become the federal capital of Brazil on April 21, 1960 (two months prior), marking it as one of the early laws promulgated in the new capital.
- **Formal Legal Classification:** Explicitly classified as a "statute," underscoring its status as a formal written document that creates law, distinct from other legal acts.
- **Digital Accessibility and Preservation:** Uniquely identified in the LexML Brazil system (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-06-24;3777) and digitally hosted on the official Planalto Palace website, ensuring long-term public access.
- **Subject of Structured Knowledge:** As part of WikiProject Brazilian Laws, it is recognized in structured knowledge systems with defined properties for jurisdiction, approving authority, and main subject.

## Body

### Legal Classification and Nature
Law No. 3777 is fundamentally classified as a **statute** (Portuguese: *estatuto* or *lei*). In legal taxonomy, a statute is a formal written document enacted to create law, serving as the concrete manifestation of statutory law. It is a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule." As a legal instrument, it is composed of legal norms and is caused by the process of legislation. In the context of this specific law, it represents a "legal act" undertaken by the federal government of Brazil. Its copyright status is in the public domain, consistent with the "edict of government doctrine" which holds that official legal documents are not copyrightable, ensuring unrestricted public access.

### Historical and Political Context
The law was promulgated on **June 24, 1960**, a pivotal year in Brazilian history. This date falls within the term of President **Juscelino Kubitschek**, who served from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's presidency is renowned for its "fifty years of progress in five" motto and major infrastructure projects, most notably the construction and inauguration of **Brasília** as the new federal capital. The law's place of publication is listed as Brasília, which had just been inaugurated as the capital on April 21, 1960, making this law one of the earliest federal statutes officially published from the new capital. The approving authority is the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil**.

### Subject Matter and Purpose
The primary function of Law No. 3777 is to authorize a **special budgetary adjustment**. In Brazilian legal and administrative terminology, this is referred to as a **"Credito Especial"** (Special Credit). This is a specific type of legislative act used to allocate funds for extraordinary or unforeseen expenses. The sole beneficiary of this special credit is the **Ministry of Education** (Portuguese: *Ministério da Educação*, commonly abbreviated as **MEC**). The Ministry of Education is a cabinet-level federal body responsible for overseeing national education policy, from primary schooling to higher education. Therefore, Law No. 3777 serves as the legal instrument for directing additional federal financial resources to support the operations or projects of the MEC.

### Jurisdiction and Applicability
The law applies to the jurisdiction of **Brazil** (officially the **Federative Republic of Brazil**), a federal republic and the largest country in South America. As a federal law, its provisions are binding across all states and the Federal District. The law is written in **Brazilian Portuguese**, the sole official language of the country. Its legal citation is formally recorded as **Lei nº 3777/1960**, which serves as its standard reference in legal databases and citations.

### Official Identification and Access
Law No. 3777 is meticulously indexed in official Brazilian legal information systems. Its unique identifier in the **LexML Brazil** system is **urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-06-24;3777**. LexML Brazil is a collaborative project aimed at establishing standards for the identification and structuring of legal documents in the country. Furthermore, the full, authoritative text of the law is accessible to the public online via the official website of the **Presidency of the Republic's Civil House** (Portuguese: *Casa Civil da Presidência da República*) at the URL **https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3777.htm**.

### Role in Knowledge and Information Systems
The law is recognized as a distinct entity within structured knowledge bases, most notably as an item within **Wikidata**. It is explicitly included in the **WikiProject Brazilian Laws**, a collaborative effort to improve coverage of Brazilian legal topics on Wikimedia projects. Its data model includes key relational properties such as `P17` (country: Brazil), `P1001` (applies to jurisdiction: Brazil), `P1891` (promulgator: Juscelino Kubitschek), `P580` (start time: 1960-06-24), `P921` (main subject: special budgetary adjustment, Ministry of Education), and `P953` (work available at URL). The existence of this structured data allows for the law to be semantically linked to other entities like its approving president, its jurisdiction, and its subject matter, enhancing discoverability and machine-readability.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1960-06-24;3777)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3777&ano=1960&data=24/06/1960&ato=5adMzaq50dVRVT73a)