# Law No. 4148 of November 21, 1962

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105648368](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105648368)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-4148-of-november-21-1962

## Summary
Law No. 4148 of November 21, 1962 is a Brazilian statute promulgated by President João Goulart that authorized a special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) for the Ministry of Education (Ministerio Da Educação). This federal law represents a formal legislative enactment from Brazil's 1962 legislative session, documented through the LexML system with the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148.

## Key Facts
- **Full Title:** Lei nº 4148, de 21 de novembro de 1962
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 4148/1962
- **Date of Promulgation:** November 21, 1962
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **President at Time of Approval:** João Goulart
- **Determination Method:** Promulgation
- **Type of Document:** Statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil (applies to entire federative republic)
- **Primary Subject Matter:** Special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial) for the Ministry of Education
- **Secondary Subject:** Ministry of Education (Ministerio Da Educação (Mec))
- **Tertiary Subject:** Allocation (Destinação)
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília
- **Publication Date:** 1962-11-21
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4148.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Statute Classification:** Instance of "legal term or legal concept," subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule"
- **Statutory Function:** Manifestation of statutory law
- **Structural Composition:** Contains legal norms as constituent parts
- **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 is Law No. 4148 of November 21, 1962?**
Law No. 4148 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated on November 21, 1962, that authorized a special budgetary credit (Credito Especial) specifically for the Ministry of Education, representing a formal legislative allocation mechanism within Brazil's federal budgeting system.

**Who approved this law and what was their role?**
President João Goulart approved the law through the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil using the determination method of promulgation on November 21, 1962, exercising executive authority over legislative enactments during his presidential term.

**What specific topics does this law address?**
The law addresses three main subjects: establishing a special budgetary adjustment (Credito Especial), targeting the Ministry of Education (Ministerio Da Educação (Mec)) as the recipient agency, and specifying the allocation (Destinação) of these funds.

**Where can the full text of this law be accessed?**
The complete text is available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4148.htm, hosted by the Brazilian government's legislative documentation system under the 1950-1969 law archive section.

**What type of legal instrument is this and how is it classified?**
This is a statute, which is a formal written document that creates law, classified as an instance of a legal term or legal concept and a subclass of written work, document, and rule, serving as the concrete manifestation of statutory law within Brazil's legal framework.

**What is the LexML identifier and why does it matter?**
The LexML Brazil ID is urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148, which provides a permanent, standardized URN (Uniform Resource Name) for precise identification and retrieval of this legislative document within Brazil's digital legal information system.

**In what language was this law originally written?**
The law was written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, which is a variant of Portuguese used in all official federal legislative acts and governmental documents.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 4148 of November 21, 1962 matters because it exemplifies Brazil's mid-20th century legislative process for managing federal education funding through special budgetary mechanisms. As a statute promulgated during João Goulart's presidency, it provides documentary evidence of executive-legislative interactions in a period of significant political tension preceding Brazil's 1964 military coup. The law's preservation and digitization through the LexML system and its inclusion in WikiProject Brazilian Laws demonstrates Brazil's commitment to legal transparency and historical documentation of budgetary decisions. Its specific focus on Ministry of Education funding reflects governmental priorities during an era of expanding public services, while its classification as a statute containing legal norms shows how Brazil's legal system operationalizes abstract budgetary principles into binding legislative text. The law's public domain status ensures unrestricted access for researchers, educators, and citizens studying Brazil's educational finance history. Furthermore, its availability through multiple authoritative sources—official government portals, LexML identifiers, and Wikidata entries—creates a robust documentation chain that supports legal certainty and historical research. The law serves as a concrete example of how statutory law manifests through formal written documents, following draft legislation and resulting in enforceable legal norms that allocate public resources, illustrating the broader function of statutes within Brazil's federal republic system.

## Notable For
- **Specific Historical Context:** Promulgated during the final years of Brazil's Fourth Republic under President João Goulart, representing pre-military coup legislative activity
- **Precise LexML Identification:** Features the standardized URN urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148 within Brazil's unique legal document naming system
- **Educational Finance Focus:** Specifically targets Ministry of Education funding through a special credit mechanism rather than general budget appropriations
- **Digital Preservation:** Available through the Planalto.gov.br legislative archive system with permanent URL structure organized by year ranges
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating active community curation of Brazil's legislative heritage
- **Triple Subject Structure:** Addresses three distinct aspects—budgetary instrument (Credito Especial), agency target (Ministerio Da Educação), and allocation purpose (Destinação)
- **Public Domain Status:** Exempt from copyright restrictions under U.S. and French legal doctrines, ensuring free distribution and academic use
- **Authority Control Integration:** Cataloged with multiple international identifiers including GND ID 4020660-9 and Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611
- **Schema.org Equivalence:** Serves as real-world equivalent to structured data class https://schema.org/Legislation for semantic web applications
- **Brasília Publication Origin:** Published in Brazil's capital, which had been the federal capital for only two years since its inauguration on April 22, 1960

## Body

### Identification and Legal Citation
Law No. 4148 of November 21, 1962 is formally titled "Lei nº 4148, de 21 de novembro de 1962" and carries the standardized legal citation "Lei nº 4148/1962." The law is classified within Brazil's federal legislative framework as a statute, which is defined as a formal written document that creates law. As a statutory enactment, it functions as the concrete manifestation of statutory law, containing legal norms as constituent parts and operating as a subclass of written work, document, and rule. The document is described in Wikidata as a "Brazilian law" and is recognized as an instance of a legal term or legal concept. Its creation followed draft laws and was caused by the legislative process, ultimately resulting in statutory law that applies to the entire jurisdiction of Brazil.

### Approval and Promulgation Process
The statute was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil on November 21, 1962, through the determination method of promulgation. President João Goulart exercised executive authority to promulgate this law during his presidential term, which spanned from 1961 to 1964. The promulgation date of November 21, 1962, is recorded in multiple authoritative sources, including the official legislative database and LexML registry. This approval process exemplifies the presidential system of Brazil's federal republic, where the head of state both signs and promulgates legislation. The law's enactment occurred in Brasília, which had served as Brazil's capital since April 22, 1960, making this one of the earlier legislative acts promulgated in the new federal district.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The law's main subject is special budgetary adjustment, explicitly stated in the legislative record as "Credito Especial." This special credit mechanism was specifically directed to the Ministry of Education, identified in the source material as "Ministerio Da Educação (Mec)." The third subject listed is "Destinação," indicating the law's purpose was to allocate or designate funds for particular ends within the education sector. This triple-subject structure reveals the law's function as a targeted financial instrument rather than general legislation, focusing on extraordinary budgetary measures for a specific ministry. The special credit approach suggests the appropriation fell outside regular budgetary processes, possibly addressing urgent or unforeseen educational funding needs during the 1962 fiscal year.

### Publication and Accessibility
The law was published on November 21, 1962, in Brasília, with the publication date matching the promulgation date. The official text is available at the URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4148.htm, which is part of the Brazilian government's legislative archive system organized by historical periods. This digital availability ensures public access to the original 1962 document. The law is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, which is a distinct variant of Portuguese used in all federal legislative acts. The document's accessibility through the Planalto portal demonstrates Brazil's commitment to maintaining permanent public access to historical legislation.

### LexML Identification System
The law carries the LexML Brazil ID urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148, which follows the URN (Uniform Resource Name) standard for legal documents. This identifier breaks down as: "urn:lex" (LexML namespace), "br" (Brazil country code), "federal" (jurisdictional level), "lei" (law type), "1962-11-21" (date), and "4148" (number). The LexML system provides a permanent, technology-independent identifier that ensures the law can be reliably cited and retrieved regardless of changes in web infrastructure. This standardized naming convention is crucial for legal certainty and digital preservation of Brazil's legislative corpus.

### Authority Control and Global Cataloging
The statute is integrated into multiple international library and knowledge systems. It holds the GND ID 4020660-9 in the German National Library system, where it is categorized as "Gesetz" (Law) or "gesetzliche Regelung" (statutory regulation). The Library of Congress Authority ID is sh85127611, and the Dewey Decimal Classification numbers 342.057 and 348.02 apply to this type of legal document. These identifiers enable global researchers to locate and reference the law within universal cataloging systems. The statute is also recognized as equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class, making it a real-world reference point for structured data on the web.

### Copyright and Public Domain Status
As an official legislative enactment of the Brazilian federal government, the law is in the public domain in the United States under the "edict of government doctrine," which establishes that official legal documents are not copyrightable. Similar public domain status applies in France. This copyright exemption ensures that the text can be freely reproduced, distributed, and analyzed without restriction, supporting principles of open government and the rule of law. The public domain status applies regardless of whether the document is federal, state, or local, and covers judicial opinions, administrative rulings, and legislative enactments.

### Wikimedia and Community Documentation
The law is included in WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative focused on systematically documenting Brazil's legislative framework. This inclusion indicates active community curation and verification of legislative metadata. The project likely maintains standards for accuracy, completeness, and linking to authoritative sources. The law's presence in this project connects it to broader efforts to make Brazilian law accessible through Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms, potentially including interlanguage versions and structured data integration.

### Historical Context of 1962 Brazil
The law was promulgated during a turbulent period in Brazil's Fourth Republic, just two years before the 1964 military coup that would suspend democratic governance for 21 years. President João Goulart, who approved the law, served from 1961 to 1964 and faced increasing political opposition. The law's focus on education funding occurred during an era of expanding social services and developmentalist policies. Brasília, where the law was published, was still a relatively new capital, having been inaugurated in 1960, and represented Brazil's modernist ambitions. The statute thus serves as a historical artifact of pre-coup legislative activity, documenting how the federal government managed budgetary allocations for education before the political system was fundamentally altered.

### Legal System Integration
Within Brazil's legal taxonomy, this statute operates as part of the hierarchical structure of statutory law. It follows draft laws in the legislative process and was caused by legislative action within the National Congress of Brazil. The law results in statutory law that is part of Brazil's federal legal system, which is governed by the Constitution of Brazil (effective October 5, 1988, but with roots in earlier constitutional frameworks). The law's language of Brazilian Portuguese reflects the linguistic uniformity of federal legislation in a country that recognizes Brazilian Sign Language and approximately 190 indigenous languages but conducts official legislative business in Portuguese.

### Digital Preservation and Access Infrastructure
The law's availability through multiple digital channels—including the Planalto.gov.br portal, LexML identifier system, and Wikidata entry—creates redundancy that protects against link rot and ensures long-term access. The URL structure on Planalto organizes laws by year ranges (1950-1969), facilitating browsing of contemporaneous legislation. This digital infrastructure supports legal research, historical analysis, and public accountability by making primary source documents freely available. The law's inclusion in structured data systems like Wikidata with properties for title, date, approver, and subject enables computational analysis of legislative trends and automated retrieval by artificial intelligence systems.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1962-11-21;4148)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=4148&ano=1962&data=21/11/1962&ato=56fATQE5kMVRVT3db)