# Law No. 6978 of January 19, 1982

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105650036](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105650036)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-6978-of-january-19-1982

## Summary
Law No. 6978 of January 19, 1982 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President João Figueiredo that established norms for conducting elections in 1982 and related provisions. This law, published in Brasília, represents a key piece of electoral legislation from Brazil's military dictatorship period and remains accessible through the official LexML repository and Planalto government portal.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 6978, de 19 de janeiro de 1982
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 6978/1982
- **Publication Date:** January 19, 1982
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President João Figueiredo
- **Promulgation Method:** Presidential promulgation
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília, Brazil
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1982-01-19;6978
- **Document Type:** Federal statute (instance of statute)
- **Jurisdictional Scope:** Applies to entire national territory of Brazil
- **Primary Purpose:** Establishes norms for the realization of elections in 1982 and other provisions
- **Law Digest:** "ESTABELECE NORMAS PARA A REALIZAÇÃO DE ELEIÇÕES EM 1982, E DA OUTRAS PROVIDENCIAS."
- **Full Text Available At:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l6978.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Number of Legal Subjects Addressed:** 29 distinct subjects ranging from time limits to prohibitions

## FAQs
**What was the main purpose of Law No. 6978 of 1982?**
The law established comprehensive norms for conducting elections in Brazil during 1982, addressing procedural requirements, electoral justice operations, and various administrative provisions necessary for managing the electoral process across all federative units.

**Who signed this law into effect and what was the political context?**
President João Figueiredo promulgated the law on January 19, 1982, during the final years of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), representing part of the controlled political opening process that would eventually lead to democratization.

**What specific legal subjects does this statute regulate?**
The law addresses 29 subjects including time limits, legal processes, political party operations, nominations and appointments, civil servant participation, municipal elections, mayoral procedures, electoral court competencies, registration requirements, and various prohibitions and obligations related to electoral activities.

**Where can researchers and citizens access the official text?**
The complete original text is publicly available through two official channels: the LexML portal at https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1982-01-19;6978 and the Planalto government website at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l6978.htm.

**How does this law fit into Brazil's legal system?**
As a federal statute, it functions as a formal written document creating law across Brazil's entire jurisdiction, binding all 26 states, the Federal District, municipalities, direct administration bodies, autarkies, and public enterprises, while operating under the authority of the Superior Electoral Court and Regional Electoral Courts.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 6978 of 1982 matters because it represents a critical piece of electoral legislation enacted during Brazil's military dictatorship period, specifically regulating the 1982 elections that served as a pivotal moment in the country's gradual redemocratization process. The law's comprehensive scope—addressing 29 distinct legal subjects from political party operations to municipal electoral procedures—demonstrates the complexity of managing a national election under authoritarian rule while establishing frameworks that would influence subsequent democratic electoral legislation. Its promulgation by President João Figueiredo, the last military president, underscores its role in the controlled political opening that eventually led to civilian rule in 1985. The law matters for contemporary researchers because it provides documented insight into how electoral processes were structured, controlled, and administered during this transitional period, including provisions for electoral justice operations, civil servant participation, and the roles of various governmental entities. As a publicly accessible federal statute, it exemplifies Brazil's commitment to transparent legal documentation, allowing citizens, scholars, and legal practitioners to examine the specific rules governing a historically significant election year. The law's continued availability through official government portals ensures that its provisions remain part of the accessible historical record, supporting studies of Brazilian political development, electoral law evolution, and the institutional mechanisms of authoritarian regimes managing controlled transitions.

## Notable For
- **Historical Timing:** Enacted during the final years of Brazil's military dictatorship, representing a key legislative act in the controlled political opening process
- **Comprehensive Electoral Coverage:** Addresses 29 distinct legal subjects in a single statute, covering everything from time limits and processes to prohibitions and obligations
- **Presidential Promulgation:** Signed by João Figueiredo, Brazil's last military president, marking his direct involvement in electoral regulation
- **Multi-Level Jurisdictional Scope:** Applies simultaneously to federal, state, and municipal levels, including direct administration, autarkies, public enterprises, and all federative units
- **Electoral Justice Integration:** Specifically references and regulates the Brazilian Election Justice system, Superior Electoral Court, and Regional Electoral Courts
- **Civil Service Regulation:** Contains explicit provisions governing civil servant participation and recruitment in electoral processes
- **Political Party Governance:** Establishes norms for political party operations, nominations, appointments, and registrations
- **Municipal Election Focus:** Includes specific provisions for mayoral elections and municipal-level electoral procedures
- **Public Domain Accessibility:** Available through multiple official government portals without copyright restriction, consistent with Brazil's policy of public legal document access
- **LexML Standardization:** Catalogued under Brazil's official legal markup language system with a persistent URN identifier for permanent citation
- **Dual URL Availability:** Hosted on both the Planalto presidential portal and LexML legislative repository for redundancy and accessibility

## Body

### Identification and Classification
Law No. 6978 of January 19, 1982 is formally identified in Portuguese as "Lei nº 6978, de 19 de janeiro de 1982" and carries the standardized legal citation "Lei nº 6978/1982." The document is classified as a federal statute, making it an instance of the broader legal concept of a statute—a formal written document that creates law through legislation. As a statute, it functions as a manifestation of statutory law and serves as an official record of legal rules enacted by the Brazilian government. The law is assigned the persistent LexML Brazil identifier "urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1982-01-19;6978," which provides a permanent, technology-independent method for citing and retrieving the document. The statute was published in Brasília, the federal capital of Brazil, and is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the country's official language. Its Wikidata entry describes it simply as a "Brazilian law," while its detailed metadata reveals it as a complex piece of electoral legislation.

### Historical Context and Promulgation
The law was promulgated on January 19, 1982, by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President João Figueiredo, who served as Brazil's last military president from 1979 to 1985. This timing places the statute within the "abertura" (political opening) period, during which the military regime gradually allowed increased political participation while maintaining control over the electoral process. The promulgation method was standard presidential promulgation, the mechanism through which bills become law in Brazil's presidential system. The law's enactment occurred when Brazil operated under the Constitution of 1967 (as amended by the 1969 Institutional Act), before the current 1988 Constitution was promulgated. The 1982 elections regulated by this law were significant as they included gubernatorial elections that would bring opposition governors to power in major states, accelerating the democratization process.

### Legal Scope and Subjects
The law's official digest states it "ESTABELECE NORMAS PARA A REALIZAÇÃO DE ELEIÇÕES EM 1982, E DA OUTRAS PROVIDENCIAS" (Establishes norms for the conduct of elections in 1982, and other provisions). This broad mandate encompasses 29 specific legal subjects, each representing a distinct aspect of electoral administration:

**Electoral Administration Entities:** The law directly addresses the Brazilian Election Justice (Justiça Eleitoral), Superior Electoral Court (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral or Tse), and Regional Electoral Courts (Tribunal Regional Eleitoral or Tre), defining their competencies and roles in the 1982 electoral process.

**Governmental Structures:** Provisions cover the direct administration (Administração Direta), autarkies (Autarquia), public enterprises (Empresa Publica), federative units of Brazil (Estados), and municipalities (Municipios), establishing how each entity participates in or is affected by electoral procedures.

**Personnel and Participation:** The statute regulates civil servants (Servidor), participants (Membros), recruitment (Contratação), nominations (Nomeação), appointments (Designação), and participation in decisions (Participação), creating rules for who can serve in electoral roles and under what conditions.

**Political Actors:** Political parties (Partido Politico) receive specific regulation regarding their operations, registration (Registro), and involvement in the electoral process. The law also addresses mayors (Prefeito) and their roles in municipal elections.

**Procedural Elements:** Detailed provisions cover time limits (Prazo), processes (Processo), decision-making (Fixação), options (Opção), calendar dates (Data), changes (Alteração), replacements (Substituição), and absences (Ausencia), creating a comprehensive procedural framework.

**Normative Structure:** The law establishes legal norms (Normas), competencies (Competencia), prohibitions (Proibição), obligations (Obrigatoriedade), and advantages (Vantagens), building the substantive rules governing electoral conduct.

**Legislative Interaction:** The Chamber of Deputies (Camara Dos Deputados) is referenced within the law's framework, acknowledging the legislative branch's relationship to electoral processes.

**Territorial Scope:** The law applies to the entire national territory (Territorio Nacional), ensuring uniform application across all Brazilian states and municipalities.

### Jurisdictional Application and Authority
The statute applies to the entire jurisdiction of Brazil, a federal republic occupying 8,515,767 km² and comprising 26 states plus one Federal District. Brazil's government structure at the time included the executive branch under President João Figueiredo, the National Congress (comprising the Federal Senate and Chamber of Deputies), and the Supreme Federal Court as the highest judicial authority. The law operates within Brazil's legal system where statutes serve as formal written documents creating binding law across all levels of government. As a federal law, it binds all federative units, municipalities, and federal entities including direct administration bodies, autarkies, and public enterprises. The law's authority derives from the presidential promulgation process and its alignment with the institutional framework of Brazil's military government period.

### Access and Documentation
The full text of Law No. 6978/1982 is publicly accessible through official Brazilian government portals, reflecting the principle that statutes are public domain documents not subject to copyright restrictions. The primary access point is the Planalto government website at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l6978.htm, which hosts the law within its collection of legislation from 1980-1988. Additionally, the law is catalogued in the LexML (Lex Markup Language) repository at https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1982-01-19;6978, providing a standardized URN-based citation system. The law's metadata was last verified on January 28, 2021, for LexML records and February 17, 2021, for presidential documentation. These access methods ensure permanent, reliable retrieval for legal research, historical analysis, and citizen consultation.

### Relationship to Broader Legal Framework
As a statute, Law No. 6978/1982 is part of Brazil's statutory law tradition where formal written documents enacted through legislation constitute the primary source of legal rules. The law follows draft laws and is caused by the legislative and promulgation process. It functions as a manifestation of statutory law and contains legal norms as its constituent parts. The statute is equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class used in structured data, making it machine-readable and interoperable with global legal informatics standards. Its existence demonstrates how Brazil's legal system, even during authoritarian periods, maintained formal legislative processes and documentary records that continue to inform understanding of the country's political evolution. The law's comprehensive approach to electoral regulation—addressing everything from municipal procedures to national electoral court operations—illustrates the complexity of managing elections in a large federal state with multiple levels of government and diverse administrative structures.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1982-01-19;6978)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=6978&ano=1982&data=19/01/1982&ato=ba2cXUE9ENrRVTedc)
3. LexML Brasil