# Law No. 4299 of December 23, 1963

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105647971](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105647971)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-4299-of-december-23-1963

## Summary
Law No. 4299 of December 23, 1963 is a Brazilian federal statute enacted during the presidency of João Goulart and published in Brasília. It functions as a formal written document that creates law within the Federative Republic of Brazil, addressing subjects such as determination, legislation, change, debt collection, federative units of Brazil, and competency.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 4299, de 23 de dezembro de 1963
- **Alternative Name:** Lei nº 4299/1963
- **Enactment Date:** December 23, 1963
- **Publication Place:** Brasília, Brazil
- **Country of Origin:** Brazil
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgated By:** João Goulart
- **Type of Legal Instrument:** Statute
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil
- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-12-23;4299
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4299.htm
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Main Subjects Addressed:** Determination (Determinação), Legislation (Legislação), Change (Alteração), Debt Collection (Cobrança), Federative Units of Brazil (Estados), Competency (Competencia)

## FAQs
**Who approved and promulgated Law No. 4299/1963?**
The law was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil and promulgated by President João Goulart on December 23, 1963.

**What jurisdiction does this law apply to?**
Law No. 4299/1963 applies to the entire Federative Republic of Brazil, functioning as a federal statute.

**What are the main subjects covered by this law?**
The statute addresses six primary subjects: determination, legislation, change, debt collection, federative units of Brazil, and competency.

**Where can the full text of this law be accessed?**
The official text is available at the Brazilian Planalto Palace website at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4299.htm and can also be referenced through the Lexml Brazil system using the identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-12-23;4299.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 4299 of December 23, 1963 represents a specific exercise of legislative authority during a pivotal period in Brazilian history. Enacted during the presidency of João Goulart—who would be deposed in a military coup less than a year later in March 1964—this statute provides insight into the legislative priorities and governance mechanisms of Brazil's democratic period before the 1964-1985 military dictatorship. As a formal written document that creates law, it exemplifies the statutory framework through which the Brazilian federal government exercises authority over matters including determination procedures, legislative processes, modifications to existing regulations, debt collection mechanisms, relationships with federative units (states), and competency delineations. The law's classification as a statute places it within the broader tradition of statutory law as the tangible manifestation of legal rules, serving as the definitive reference point for courts, citizens, and administrators. Its availability through official Brazilian government channels ensures public accessibility to this component of the nation's legal heritage, consistent with the principle that legal texts should remain in the public domain for citizen review.

## Notable For
- **Historical Context:** Enacted during the final months of democratic governance before the 1964 military coup
- **Presidential Authorization:** Promulgated by João Goulart, one of Brazil's most historically significant presidents
- **Federal Legislative Framework:** Represents the exercise of federal legislative authority in Brazil's presidential system
- **Multi-Subject Legislation:** Addresses six distinct legal categories within a single statutory instrument
- **Official Documentation:** Maintained in Brazil's official legal repositories with standardized identifiers
- **WikiProject Inclusion:** Recognized within WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating scholarly and encyclopedic relevance
- **Capital City Publication:** Published in Brasília, which had been established as Brazil's capital only three years earlier in 1960

## Body

### Legal Classification and Type
Law No. 4299 of December 23, 1963 is formally classified as a **statute**—a formal written document that creates law. As an instance of this legal concept, it represents the concrete manifestation of statutory law within the Brazilian legal system. Statutes function as the official record of legal rules enacted by government authority and serve as foundational instruments through which governmental power is formally exercised and recorded.

In the Brazilian legal taxonomy, this instrument holds the classification of a federal law (federal:lei), indicating its applicability across the entire Federative Republic of Brazil rather than being limited to specific states or municipalities. The statute is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.

### Promulgation and Authority
The law was promulgated on **December 23, 1963**, by **João Goulart**, serving as President of Brazil through the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The promulgation method followed standard Brazilian legislative procedures, with the presidency serving as the final approving authority for the statute's enactment. This occurred during Goulart's tenure as president, which lasted from September 8, 1961, until April 1, 1964, when he was deposed in a military coup.

The statute was published in **Brasília**, which had been established as Brazil's federal capital on April 21, 1960. The publication in the new capital reflected the ongoing transition of governmental functions from Rio de Janeiro to the purpose-built city in the Brazilian interior.

### Main Subjects and Legal Scope
Law No. 4299/1963 addresses six distinct subject areas, each identified through formal categorization in the Brazilian legal documentation system:

1. **Determination (Determinação):** Establishing authoritative decisions or mandates
2. **Legislation (Legislação):** Matters related to the creation or modification of legal frameworks
3. **Change (Alteração):** Provisions for modifying existing regulations or legal structures
4. **Debt Collection (Cobrança):** Procedures and regulations governing the collection of debts, likely pertaining to governmental fiscal operations
5. **Federative Units of Brazil (Estados):** Matters concerning the states within Brazil's federal system
6. **Competency (Competencia):** Delineation of authoritative powers and jurisdictions between governmental entities

The inclusion of federative units as a subject indicates the law addresses the relationship between federal authority and Brazil's state governments, consistent with the country's federal republic structure.

### Official Identification and Access
The statute carries multiple official identifiers for reference and retrieval:

- **Lexml Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-12-23;4299
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 4299/1963
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 4299, de 23 de dezembro de 1963

The Lexml Brazil system provides a standardized uniform resource name (URN) that allows for precise identification of Brazilian legal documents. This identifier follows the lexical structure established for Brazilian federal legislation, encoding the document type (lei), jurisdiction (federal), date (1963-12-23), and law number (4299).

The full text of the law is accessible through the official website of the Brazilian Presidency at the Planalto Palace portal: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1950-1969/l4299.htm. This digital availability ensures public access to the legal text, consistent with principles of governmental transparency and the public domain status of official legal documents.

### Jurisdictional Application
Law No. 4299/1963 applies to the entire **Federative Republic of Brazil** as its jurisdiction. Brazil, as a federal republic, comprises 26 states plus one Federal District (Brasília), and federal statutes such as this one establish uniform legal provisions across all federative units. The law's mention of "Estados" (states) among its main subjects indicates it addresses the relationship between federal authority and these constituent political entities.

### Historical and Political Context
The enactment of Law No. 4299 occurred during a historically significant period in Brazilian governance. The year 1963 marked the final full year of democratic rule before the military coup of March 31, 1964, which initiated a 21-year period of military dictatorship. President João Goulart, who promulgated this law, had assumed the presidency following the resignation of Jânio Quadros in August 1961 and would be overthrown just months after signing this legislation.

The law's focus on competency, federative units, and legislation suggests it may have been part of broader governmental efforts to clarify jurisdictional authorities and administrative procedures during a period of significant political tension. The inclusion of debt collection provisions also indicates attention to fiscal and administrative matters during Goulart's economically challenging presidency.

### Documentation and Scholarly Recognition
Law No. 4299/1963 has been incorporated into **WikiProject Brazilian Laws**, indicating its recognition within encyclopedic and scholarly documentation projects focused on Brazilian legal history. This inclusion ensures the law's systematic cataloging alongside other Brazilian legislative instruments and facilitates research into the nation's legal development.

The statute's documentation through multiple authoritative sources—including the Lexml Brazil system, the official Presidency website, and Wikidata-based structured knowledge systems—ensures redundant preservation and accessibility of information about this legal instrument for legal professionals, historians, and citizens.

### Relationship to Statutory Law
As a statute, Law No. 4299/1963 exemplifies the broader concept of statutory law within legal systems. Statutes function as formal written documents that create law, encompassing acts passed by legislatures, executive orders, and by-laws. They represent the physical or formal expression of legal rules and are distinguished from broader abstract concepts of law or legislation by their concrete, documented nature.

In the Brazilian context, statutes such as this one serve as the building blocks of the country's civil law tradition, where written codes and legislative enactments form the primary basis for legal authority. The statute's composition includes legal norms—specific rules or directives that together constitute the law's operative provisions—and the document itself forms part of the broader corpus of Brazilian statutory law.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1963-12-23;4299)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=4299&ano=1963&data=23/12/1963&ato=a1fgXR650MVRVTb4d)