# Law No. 4273 of October 24, 1963

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105647933](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105647933)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-4273-of-october-24-1963

## Summary
**Law No. 4273 of October 24, 1963** is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President João Goulart that authorizes a special budgetary adjustment (*Crédito Especial*) for the Ministry of Health. Officially titled *Lei nº 4273, de 24 de outubro de 1963*, it serves as a formal legal instrument enacted by the Brazilian government to create law. As a statute, it functions as a written manifestation of statutory law, recorded in the country's official legal systems and accessible to the public.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 4273, de 24 de outubro de 1963.
- **Alternative Name:** Law No. 4273 of October 24, 1963.
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 4273/1963.
- **Date of Promulgation:** October 24, 1963.
- **Date of Publication:** October 24, 1963.
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil.
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
- **Promulgated By:** President João Goulart.
- **Type of Legal Instrument:** Statute (formal written document that creates law).
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil.
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese.
- **Main Subject:** Special budgetary adjustment (*Credito Especial*).
- **Beneficiary Entity:** Ministry of Health of Brazil (*Ministerio Da Saude - Ms*).
- **LexML Brazil ID:** `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273`.
- **Official URL:** Available at `https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4273.htm`.
- **Project Focus:** Listed on WikiProject Brazilian Laws.

## FAQs
**What type of legal document is this law?**
This law is classified as a **statute**, which is a formal written document enacted to create law. As a legal term and concept, it serves as a concrete manifestation of statutory law and is considered a subclass of written work, document, and rule. It encompasses acts passed by legislatures and functions as the official record of legal rules enacted by the government.

**Who approved and enacted Law No. 4273?**
The law was approved by the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil** and specifically promulgated by **João Goulart**, who served as President at the time. The promulgation took place on October 24, 1963.

**What is the specific purpose of Law No. 4273?**
The law's main subject is a **special budgetary adjustment** (referred to in Portuguese as *Credito Especial*). This financial provision is specifically designated for the **Ministry of Health of Brazil** (*Ministerio Da Saude - Ms*), indicating a targeted allocation of government funds for health-related purposes.

**Is the text of the law publicly accessible?**
Yes, the full text of the law is publicly accessible. It can be found at the official Planalto Palace website (`https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4273.htm`) and is indexed under the LexML Brazil system with the identifier `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273`. As an official legal document (statute), it exists in the public domain, ensuring public accessibility.

**How is this law identified in legal and knowledge systems?**
The law is identified through several systems: it has a **LexML Brazil ID** (`urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273`) for legal referencing and a **legal citation** of `Lei nº 4273/1963`. It is also recognized on WikiProject Brazilian Laws. Furthermore, as a type of "statute," it is semantically equivalent to `https://schema.org/Legislation` and is cataloged in various library and authority systems, including the Library of Congress and GND.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 4273 of October 24, 1963 matters as a primary example of the Brazilian government's use of statutory law to exercise financial authority. Its specific authorization of a *Credito Especial* (special credit) for the Ministry of Health highlights the procedural mechanism by which the executive branch, under President João Goulart, could allocate exceptional or supplementary funds beyond the standard budget to critical public sectors like health. This demonstrates the practical application of a statute as a tool for governance and resource distribution.

In a broader context, the law serves as a concrete manifestation of the legal concept of a **statute**. It exemplifies how formal written documents function as the tangible record of legal rules. Its existence reinforces the principle that such official government edicts are public domain documents, freely accessible to citizens and researchers, thereby supporting transparency and the rule of law. By being indexed in systems like LexML Brazil and WikiProject Brazilian Laws, the law also illustrates how modern legal knowledge is structured, preserved, and made discoverable in digital knowledge bases.

## Notable For
- **Specific Financial Mandate:** Notable for specifically authorizing a *Credito Especial* (special budgetary adjustment), distinguishing it from general legislation.
- **Targeted Sector Focus:** Directly benefits a specific government body, the **Ministry of Health of Brazil**.
- **Historical Executive Authority:** Represents the legal exercise of power by President **João Goulart** during his tenure in 1963.
- **Digital Preservation:** Recognized and indexed by **LexML Brazil** with a unique URN identifier (`urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273`), ensuring its long-term digital accessibility.
- **Semantic Web Integration:** As a statute, it belongs to a class of entities that are semantically equivalent to `https://schema.org/Legislation`, allowing it to be processed by search engines and knowledge graphs.
- **Public Domain Status:** As a statute, it is not subject to copyright restrictions in the United States (per the edict of government doctrine), reinforcing the principle that laws must be freely accessible to the public.

## Body

### Legislative Definition and Classification
Law No. 4273 of October 24, 1963 is formally classified as a **statute**. A statute is defined as a formal written document that creates law, encompassing acts, executive orders, and by-laws. It serves as a foundational legal concept and a manifestation of statutory law. Structurally, a statute is composed of legal norms and is a subclass of "written work," "document," and "rule." This law, therefore, is not merely an abstract legal idea but the physical or formal expression of a legal rule enacted by the Brazilian government.

### Official Identification and Metadata
The law is precisely identified through several official attributes and identifiers:
- **Title:** Lei nº 4273, de 24 de outubro de 1963.
- **Date of Promulgation and Publication:** Both occurred on **October 24, 1963**.
- **Place of Publication:** **Brasília**, the federal capital of Brazil.
- **Jurisdiction:** **Brazil** (Federative Republic of Brazil).
- **Language:** **Brazilian Portuguese**.
- **Legal Citation:** Referred to as **Lei nº 4273/1963**.
- **LexML URN:** Its unique identifier in the Brazilian Legal Information system is `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273`.
- **Official Access:** The work is available online at the Planalto government website: `https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4273.htm`.

### Authority and Approval
The law was enacted through the authority of the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil**. It was specifically promulgated by **João Goulart**, who was the sitting President of Brazil at the time. The method of determination was promulgation, signifying the formal proclamation of the law's validity. This process took place within the broader political and legal framework of Brazil, a federal republic that declared independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822, and whose current capital has been Brasília since April 22, 1960.

### Subject Matter and Purpose
The primary subject matter of Law No. 4273 is a **special budgetary adjustment**, stated as **"Credito Especial"** in the text. This type of financial instrument allows for allocations outside the ordinary budget. The law explicitly designates the **Ministry of Health of Brazil** (*Ministerio Da Saude - Ms*) as the beneficiary of this special credit. By creating this legal norm, the statute directed specific government resources toward the health sector, functioning as part of the broader body of "statutory law" that governs administrative and financial operations in the country.

### Public Access and Copyright Status
As a statute, Law No. 4273 holds a unique status regarding copyright and public access. Under the "edict of government doctrine," statutes are generally considered to be in the **public domain** in jurisdictions like the United States and France. This is because official legal documents, such as legislative enactments, are not copyrightable due to public policy. This principle ensures that laws governing the public are freely owned by the public. The law's availability on the official Planalto website and its inclusion in the LexML system further facilitate this unrestricted access.

### Integration into Knowledge Systems
Law No. 4273, as an instance of a statute, fits into a wider network of structured data and global knowledge systems. The concept of a "statute" is indexed across major library systems, including the **Library of Congress Authority ID** (`sh85127611`) and the **GND ID** (`4020660-9`). In the context of the Semantic Web, the entity type "statute" is an "equivalent class" to `https://schema.org/Legislation`. The law's inclusion on **WikiProject Brazilian Laws** also places it within a curated effort to organize and document Brazilian legislative information for collaborative knowledge bases. These connections allow the law to be understood not only as a standalone legal text but also as a node within global legal and informational ontologies.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-10-24;4273)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=4273&ano=1963&data=24/10/1963&ato=4d7EzZq50MVRVT7f1)