# Law No. 3878 of January 30, 1961

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648028](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648028)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-3878-of-january-30-1961

## Summary
Law No. 3878 of January 30, 1961 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President Juscelino Kubitschek on the final day of his presidency, representing a formal written enactment that creates binding law within Brazil's jurisdiction. As a statute, it functions as the concrete manifestation of statutory law, cataloged under the LexML identifier `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878` and publicly accessible through the official Planalto government portal.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 3878, de 30 de janeiro de 1961
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 3878/1961
- **Promulgation Date:** January 30, 1961
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President Juscelino Kubitschek
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a "statute" (formal written document that creates law)
- **Jurisdiction:** Applies exclusively to Brazil
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil's federal capital since April 22, 1960
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878
- **Official URL:** Available at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3878.htm
- **Main Subjects:** Decision (Fixação), Legislation (Legislação), Economic Value (Valor), and Change (Alteração)
- **Wikimedia Project:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Copyright Status:** As a statute, it is in the public domain in the United States under the edict of government doctrine and similarly in France
- **Library Classification:** Dewey Decimal numbers 342.057 and 348.02 apply to statutes generally
- **Authority Control:** Statutes as a class hold GND ID 4020660-9 and Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611

## FAQs
**What is Law No. 3878 of January 30, 1961?**  
It is a Brazilian federal statute—a formal written document that creates law—promulgated on January 30, 1961, by President Juscelino Kubitschek. The law addresses subjects including decision-making, legislation, economic value, and legal changes within Brazil's jurisdiction.

**Who signed this law into effect and what was the historical timing?**  
President Juscelino Kubitschek promulgated the law on January 30, 1961, which was the final day of his presidential term that spanned from 1956 to 1961. This timing places the statute among the last official acts of his administration.

**Where can the full text of this law be accessed?**  
The complete text is publicly available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3878.htm, hosted by the Presidency of Brazil's legislative documentation portal. This ensures direct access to the authentic legal text.

**What type of legal instrument is this and how is it classified?**  
It is classified as a "statute," which is a subclass of written work, document, and rule. As a statute, it serves as the concrete manifestation of statutory law and functions as an umbrella category that includes acts, executive orders, and by-laws.

**Does this law have any copyright restrictions?**  
No. Like all statutes, Law No. 3878 is in the public domain in the United States under the edict of government doctrine, which holds that official legal documents are not copyrightable. France maintains a similar public domain status for legislative enactments.

**How is this law cataloged in library and knowledge systems?**  
The statute carries the LexML Brazil identifier `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878` and is part of WikiProject Brazilian Laws. As a class, statutes are cataloged under Dewey Decimal 342.057 and 348.02, with authority control numbers including GND ID 4020660-9 and Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 3878 of January 30, 1961 matters because it exemplifies the statutory lawmaking process in Brazil's federal republic, representing a tangible exercise of legislative authority during a pivotal presidential transition. As a statute, it forms part of the foundational legal architecture that governs Brazilian society, providing documented evidence of how the federal government regulates decision-making, economic valuation, and legislative changes. Its promulgation in Brasília—the capital that had only been inaugurated nine months prior—demonstrates the early legal activity of Brazil's newly relocated federal government. The law's inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws and its assignment of a permanent LexML identifier ensure its preservation and accessibility for legal research, judicial interpretation, and public accountability. The statute's public domain status guarantees that citizens, scholars, and practitioners can freely access, analyze, and reference this legal text without restriction, reinforcing the principle that laws must be publicly known to be effective. Furthermore, its existence as a cataloged entity within global library systems (Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, GND) connects Brazilian legislation to international legal scholarship and comparative law studies, enabling cross-jurisdictional research and understanding of South American legal frameworks.

## Notable For
- **Presidential Timing:** Promulgated on the final day of President Juscelino Kubitschek's term, making it one of his administration's last legislative acts before the transition to the next government.
- **Capital Proximity:** Published in Brasília less than a year after the capital's inauguration on April 22, 1960, representing early legislative activity in the new federal district.
- **LexML Identification:** Bears the standardized LexML URN `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878`, a persistent identifier in Brazil's legal information system.
- **Wikimedia Integration:** Specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating active curation within the Wikimedia ecosystem for legal documentation.
- **Multi-Subject Scope:** Addresses four distinct thematic areas—decision, legislation, economic value, and change—suggesting comprehensive regulatory content.
- **Public Accessibility:** Available through the official Planalto portal with a direct, stable URL since at least 2021, ensuring continuous public access.
- **Semantic Web Equivalence:** As a statute, it corresponds to the `https://schema.org/Legislation` class, enabling structured data representation.
- **Authority Control:** Inherits the library authority identifiers assigned to statutes as a class, including GND and Library of Congress IDs, facilitating global discovery.

## Body

### Identification and Legal Classification
Law No. 3878 of January 30, 1961 is formally identified by its Portuguese title "Lei nº 3878, de 30 de janeiro de 1961" and carries the standardized legal citation "Lei nº 3878/1961." The statute is classified as an instance of the "statute" entity type, which is defined as a formal written document that creates law. This classification places the law within a broader taxonomy that includes acts passed by legislatures, executive orders, and by-laws. As a statute, it functions as a subclass of written work, document, and rule, serving as the concrete manifestation of statutory law within Brazil's legal system. The law's Wikidata description succinctly identifies it as a "Brazilian law," aligning with its statutory nature.

### Promulgation and Historical Context
The statute was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil through the act of promulgation on January 30, 1961. President Juscelino Kubitschek personally promulgated the law, as recorded with the qualifier P1891 linking directly to his authority. This date is historically significant as it marks the final day of Kubitschek's presidential term, which lasted from 1956 to 1961. The promulgation occurred in Brasília, which had become Brazil's federal capital on April 22, 1960, meaning the law was published less than nine months after the capital's inauguration. This timing positions Law No. 3878 among the early legislative acts of Brazil's newly relocated federal government.

### Jurisdictional and Linguistic Parameters
The statute applies exclusively to the jurisdiction of Brazil, as explicitly stated in its "applies to jurisdiction" property. The law is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, which is a specific variant of Portuguese distinct from European Portuguese. This linguistic specification ensures precise legal interpretation within the national context. The place of publication is confirmed as Brasília, the federal district, reinforcing its status as a federal-level enactment rather than state or municipal legislation.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The law's main subjects are explicitly cataloged with stated-as qualifiers revealing its thematic focus: "Fixação" (Decision), "Legislação" (Legislation), "Valor" (Economic Value), and "Alteração" (Change). These four subjects indicate the statute addresses matters of legal determination, legislative process, economic valuation, and modification of existing provisions. As a statute, it is composed of legal norms and represents the official record of rules enacted by governmental authority. Its creation follows draft laws and is caused by the legislative process, resulting in statutory law that governs the specified subjects.

### Accessibility and Digital Preservation
The full text of Law No. 3878 is permanently available at the URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l3878.htm, as documented by references dated February 17, 2021. This official portal maintained by the Presidency of Brazil ensures authentic, unaltered access to the legislative text. The law is also assigned a LexML Brazil ID—`urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878`—which provides a persistent, standardized identifier within Brazil's legal XML markup language system. This identifier follows the URN (Uniform Resource Name) structure, enabling precise citation and machine-readable retrieval. Additionally, the statute is included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative focused on organizing and improving coverage of Brazilian legislation across Wikimedia projects.

### Cataloging and Authority Control
As a statute, Law No. 3878 inherits the authority control identifiers assigned to its class. The GND (Integrated Authority File) identifies statutes with ID 4020660-9, categorizing them as "Gesetz" (Law) or "gesetzliche Regelung" (statutory regulation). The Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 similarly classifies statutes within library systems. Dewey Decimal classifications 342.057 and 348.02 apply to statutes, facilitating shelf placement in legal collections. These identifiers connect the specific law to global bibliographic systems, enabling discovery by international researchers.

### Copyright and Public Domain Status
Law No. 3878, like all statutes, is in the public domain in the United States under the edict of government doctrine, which establishes that official legal documents—including legislative enactments—are not subject to copyright. France maintains a comparable policy, ensuring that statutes remain freely accessible to the public. This status guarantees that the text can be reproduced, distributed, and analyzed without legal restriction, supporting transparency and the rule of law.

### Semantic Web and Knowledge Graph Integration
The statute entity type is equivalent to the `https://schema.org/Legislation` class, enabling structured data representation on the web. This equivalence allows Law No. 3878 to be described using schema.org markup, facilitating search engine discovery and knowledge graph integration. The broader class of statutes holds a Google Knowledge Graph ID `/g/120kn55l` and BabelNet ID `00050588n`, connecting Brazilian legislation to global semantic networks. Properties associated with this entity type include P467, P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681, providing a rich metadata framework for machine interpretation.

### Publication and Documentation Standards
The law's publication date is definitively recorded as January 30, 1961, with references from both LexML and the Presidency's legislative portal confirming this date. The determination method for its enactment is explicitly listed as "promulgation," distinguishing it from other forms of legal approval such as sanction or veto. The statute is documented in Brazilian Portuguese, using terminology consistent with Brazil's civil law tradition. Its availability through multiple official channels—LexML and the Planalto portal—demonstrates redundant preservation within government systems.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1961-01-30;3878)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=3878&ano=1961&data=30/01/1961&ato=06aITQE5keVRVT8e9)