# Law No. 5974 of December 11, 1973

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105659890](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105659890)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-5974-of-december-11-1973

## Summary
Law No. 5974 of December 11, 1973 is a Brazilian federal statute that establishes criminal jurisdiction and procedural rules for the prosecution of members of the Ministério Público da União (MPU), the country's federal prosecution body. Promulgated by President Emílio Garrastazu Médici, it serves as a specialized legal framework defining competency for investigating, processing, and judging these specific federal officials. The law is officially cited as *Lei nº 5974/1973* and applies to the jurisdiction of Brazil.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 5974, de 11 de dezembro de 1973
- **Short Title/Citation:** Lei nº 5974/1973
- **Entity Type:** Statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Date of Promulgation:** December 11, 1973
- **Approving Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Promulgating Official:** President Emílio Garrastazu Médici
- **Subject Matter (Digest):** Criminal jurisdiction competency for the process and judgment of members of the Ministério Público da União (MPU)
- **Jurisdiction:** Brazil (Federative Republic of Brazil)
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil ID:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-11;5974
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5974.htm
- **Main Subjects:** Criminal process (Processo), legal devices (Dispositivos), court decisions/judgments (Julgamento), participants/members (Membros), legal norms (Normas), competency (Competencia)
- **Wikidata Project:** On focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws

## FAQs

**What is the specific purpose of this law?**
The law defines which judicial authorities have the criminal competency to investigate, process, and judge members of Brazil's federal prosecution service, the Ministério Público da União. It provides the legal framework for establishing jurisdiction and procedural norms in criminal cases involving these federal officials.

**Who approved and enacted this law?**
The law was approved by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil and promulgated by President Emílio Garrastazu Médici on December 11, 1973. The official act of promulgation was signed in Brasília, the federal capital.

**What is the Ministério Público da União (MPU)?**
While the source material does not provide a detailed description of the MPU, the law itself is centered on establishing criminal procedural competency for its members. The MPU (Union's Public Ministry) is the Brazilian federal prosecution body whose members are subject to this law's jurisdictional provisions.

**Where can the official text of the law be accessed?**
The full text is available at the official Brazilian government portal maintained by the Presidency of the Republic at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5974.htm. It is also cataloged in Brazil's LexML system under the URN: urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-11;5974.

**What type of legal instrument is this?**
Law No. 5974/1973 is classified as a **statute**, which is a formal written document that creates law. As a statute, it is a manifestation of statutory law, distinct from other legal instruments such as executive orders or by-laws, though it falls under the broad umbrella of legislative acts.

**What are the core legal concepts covered by this law?**
The law encompasses several key legal subjects: criminal process (Processo), legal devices/provisions (Dispositivos), court decisions and judgments (Julgamento), the participants or members involved (Membros), the legal norms themselves (Normas), and the concept of competency or jurisdiction (Competencia).

## Why It Matters
This statute is significant because it provides the essential legal framework for addressing criminal matters involving members of one of Brazil's most important federal institutions, the Ministério Público da União (MPU). By clearly establishing which courts and authorities hold criminal jurisdiction over these officials, the law ensures procedural clarity and prevents jurisdictional conflicts that could arise in the prosecution of federal prosecutors.

The law matters for the integrity of Brazil's federal justice system. Members of the MPU play a critical role in upholding the law at the federal level, and having a dedicated statute to govern the criminal process against them ensures that accusations of criminal conduct are handled by the appropriate judicial authorities. This separation of competency helps maintain checks and balances within the Brazilian legal system.

Furthermore, as a product of Brazil's presidential system, the law represents the exercise of legislative authority by the executive branch during the period of military rule (1964–1985), having been promulgated by President Emílio Garrastazu Médici. Its continued validity and availability through official government portals demonstrate the ongoing relevance of historical legal enactments in Brazil's contemporary jurisprudence. The law's existence on the WikiProject Brazilian Laws focus list also highlights its recognized importance within efforts to document and structure Brazil's legal corpus.

## Notable For
- **Specialized Jurisdictional Statute:** Dedicated specifically to defining criminal competency for members of a major federal institution (the MPU), rather than general criminal procedure.
- **Historical Enactment:** Promulgated in 1973 during Brazil's military government period under President Médici, reflecting the legal structures of that era.
- **Federal-Level Application:** Applies uniformly across the entire jurisdiction of Brazil, establishing competency rules for federal officials nationwide.
- **LexML Integration:** Assigned a formal URN (urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-11;5974) within Brazil's official legal document identification system, ensuring standardized citation and access.
- **Official Digital Availability:** Hosted on the official Brazilian Presidency portal (planalto.gov.br), ensuring public accessibility to the legal text.
- **WikiProject Recognition:** Included on the focus list of WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its identified relevance within structured legal knowledge bases.

## Body

### Definition and Classification
Law No. 5974 of December 11, 1973 is a Brazilian federal **statute** (Portuguese: *Lei*). As a statute, it constitutes a formal written document that creates law, classified as a manifestation of statutory law. It is an instance of a "legal term or legal concept" and represents a specific legislative act enacted by the Brazilian federal government. The law is part of the broader body of Brazilian legislation and operates within the country's civil law legal system.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The law's core subject, as stated in its digest, is to "DISPÕE SOBRE A COMPETENCIA CRIMINAL PARA O PROCESSO E JULGAMENTO DOS MEMBROS DO MINISTERIO PUBLICO DA UNIÃO" (Provides for criminal competency for the process and judgment of members of the Ministério Público da União).

Its scope encompasses several interconnected legal concepts:
- **Process (Processo):** The criminal procedure and legal process applicable to the accused members.
- **Legal Devices (Dispositivos):** The specific legal provisions and articles contained within the statute.
- **Court Decisions (Julgamento):** The judgments and rulings that result from the criminal proceedings.
- **Participants (Membros):** The members of the MPU who are the specific subjects of this legal framework.
- **Legal Norms (Normas):** The rules and standards established by the statute.
- **Competency (Competencia):** The central concept defining which judicial body or authority holds jurisdiction over these criminal matters.

### Promulgation and Authority
The statute was formally promulgated on **December 11, 1973**, in **Brasília**, the federal capital of Brazil. The approving authority was the **Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil**, with the promulgation performed by **President Emílio Garrastazu Médici**.

President Médici served as Brazil's military ruler from 1969 to 1974, and this law was enacted during the most repressive period of Brazil's military dictatorship. The determination method for the law's enactment is specified as "promulgation," indicating the formal act by which the President gave the law its force and official status. The historical context places this statute within the legal output of Brazil's military government era, which continued from 1964 until the return to civilian rule in 1985.

### Jurisdiction and Application
The law applies to the entire **Federative Republic of Brazil**. As a federal law (*lei federal*), it has nationwide application, establishing uniform rules for criminal competency regarding MPU members across all Brazilian states and territories. The law's place of publication, Brasília, is consistent with its status as a federal enactment.

### Official Identification and Access
The statute is officially identified and accessible through several formal channels:

**LexML Brazil Identifier:**
The law has been assigned the URN (Uniform Resource Name): `urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-11;5974`. This identifier conforms to Brazil's LexML standard, a system designed to provide unique, persistent identifiers for legal documents, facilitating citation and retrieval.

**Official URL:**
The full text of the law is available at the official Brazilian government website: `https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1970-1979/l5974.htm`. This URL is hosted by the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic, ensuring authoritative access to the legal text. The link structure places it within the 1970-1979 legislative collection.

**Legal Citation:**
The standard legal citation for this statute is **Lei nº 5974/1973**.

### Language and Format
The law is written in **Brazilian Portuguese**, the official language of Brazil. As a statute, it exists as a formal written document, embodying the legal norms it establishes. The document format follows standard Brazilian legislative conventions.

### Context within the Brazilian Legal System
Brazil operates as a federal republic with a civil law system heavily influenced by Portuguese, Italian, German, and French legal traditions. Within this system, statutes (*leis*) are primary sources of law. This particular law addresses a specialized area of procedural law—criminal competency—targeted at a specific category of public officials.

The **Ministério Público da União (MPU)** is part of Brazil's unique prosecution system. Unlike some jurisdictions where prosecutors are part of the executive branch, Brazil's prosecutors form an autonomous institution. This law's focus on MPU members reflects the need for specialized jurisdictional rules when criminal accusations are leveled against these constitutionally distinct officials.

### Relation to Statutory Law Principles
As a statute, Law No. 5974/1973 embodies general principles applicable to statutory law:
- It is a formal written document that creates legal rules.
- It functions as a manifestation of statutory law.
- It contains legal norms as its constituent parts.
- It resulted from the legislative process (preceded by draft laws and caused by legislation).
- As an official legal document, statutes in Brazil, like in many jurisdictions, are generally considered public domain, accessible to all citizens.

### Documentation and Knowledge Base Coverage
The statute is recognized within structured knowledge projects:
- It is on the focus list of **WikiProject Brazilian Laws**, a WikiProject dedicated to improving coverage of Brazilian legislation on Wikimedia projects.
- The law's metadata has been extracted and structured from sources including the official LexML repository and the Presidency's legislative portal.
- References documenting the law's attributes date from 2021, indicating recent verification of its source data.

### Related Legal Concepts
The law intersects with several broader legal categories:
- **Criminal Law:** As it pertains to criminal processes and judgments.
- **Procedural Law:** By defining competency and process rules.
- **Administrative Law:** As it concerns the regulation and accountability of public officials (MPU members).
- **Constitutional Law:** Given that the MPU is a constitutionally defined institution in Brazil, procedural rules for its members have constitutional implications.

This statute operates within the complex web of Brazilian federal legislation, serving a specific but important function in defining how justice is administered when federal prosecutors themselves face criminal accusations.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1973-12-11;5974)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=5974&ano=1973&data=11/12/1973&ato=4a9ATUq5EenRVT91c)
3. LexML Brasil