# Law No. 7163 of December 7, 1983

> Brazilian law

**Wikidata**: [Q105650005](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105650005)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/law-no-7163-of-december-7-1983

## Summary
Law No. 7163 of December 7, 1983 is a Brazilian federal statute promulgated by President João Figueiredo that regulates functional progression for civil servants as referenced in Law 5.645 of December 10, 1970. This legal instrument establishes the framework for career advancement of public sector employees within Brazil's federal administrative structure during the final years of the military dictatorship period.

## Key Facts
- **Official Title:** Lei nº 7163, de 7 de dezembro de 1983
- **Legal Citation:** Lei nº 7163/1983
- **Promulgation Date:** December 7, 1983
- **Promulgating Authority:** Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil under President João Figueiredo
- **Method of Enactment:** Promulgation
- **Legal Classification:** Instance of a statute (formal written document that creates law)
- **Subject Matter:** Functional progression for civil servants (progressão funcional)
- **Referenced Legislation:** Law 5.645 of December 10, 1970
- **Jurisdiction:** Federative Republic of Brazil
- **Place of Publication:** Brasília
- **Language:** Brazilian Portuguese
- **LexML Brazil Identifier:** urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1983-12-07;7163
- **Official URL:** https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l7163.htm
- **Wikidata Description:** Brazilian law
- **Wikimedia Project Focus:** Part of WikiProject Brazilian Laws
- **Main Subjects:** Civil servant (stated as "Servidor"), definition (stated as "Definição"), and legal norm (stated as "Normas")
- **Law Digest:** DISPÕE SOBRE A PROGRESSÃO FUNCIONAL A QUE SE REFERE A LEI 5.645, DE 10 DE DEZEMBRO DE 1970

## FAQs
**What does Law No. 7163 of 1983 regulate?**  
The law regulates functional progression for civil servants, establishing rules for career advancement within Brazil's federal public administration as originally outlined in Law 5.645/1970.

**Who promulgated this law and when?**  
President João Figueiredo promulgated Law No. 7163 on December 7, 1983, during his tenure as the last president of Brazil's military dictatorship period.

**What is the legal status of this document?**  
It is a federal statute, which is a formal written document that creates law and serves as a manifestation of statutory law in Brazil's legal system.

**Where can the full text of Law No. 7163 be accessed?**  
The complete text is publicly available at the official URL https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l7163.htm through the Brazilian government's legislation portal.

**What previous legislation does this law reference?**  
It specifically references and builds upon Law 5.645 of December 10, 1970, which presumably established initial provisions regarding civil servant career progression.

## Why It Matters
Law No. 7163 of December 7, 1983 matters because it formalized the regulatory framework for civil servant career advancement during a critical transitional period in Brazilian history. Enacted in the final years of the military dictatorship under President João Figueiredo, this statute provided structured rules for functional progression that impacted the entire federal public administration workforce. By referencing Law 5.645/1970, it created a legal continuity that helped stabilize public sector employment policies at a time when Brazil was beginning its gradual transition back to democratic governance. The law's existence ensures that civil servants have defined pathways for professional advancement based on clear legal norms, which is fundamental for maintaining a professional, merit-based bureaucracy. Its inclusion in the LexML Brazil system and availability through official government portals demonstrates Brazil's commitment to transparent, accessible legislative documentation. As part of the statutory law system, it represents one of thousands of legislative acts that collectively shape Brazil's administrative law landscape, directly affecting the careers and working conditions of public employees who implement government policy across all federal agencies.

## Notable For
- **Specific Regulatory Focus:** Dedicated exclusively to functional progression rules for civil servants, making it a specialized administrative law instrument rather than general legislation
- **Historical Context:** Promulgated during the final phase of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985), representing legal policy-making in the authoritarian period's twilight
- **Legislative Connectivity:** Directly amends or clarifies provisions from Law 5.645/1970, creating a documented legislative lineage
- **Digital Accessibility:** Cataloged in Brazil's LexML identification system with the unique identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1983-12-07;7163
- **Official Publication:** Published in Brasília, the federal capital, which became Brazil's administrative center in 1960
- **Public Domain Status:** As a statute, it is in the public domain under the edict of government doctrine, ensuring free public access without copyright restrictions
- **Wikimedia Documentation:** Specifically tracked by WikiProject Brazilian Laws, indicating its importance in systematic legal documentation efforts
- **Semantic Web Integration:** Equivalent to schema.org/Legislation class, making it machine-readable and interoperable with global legal data standards
- **Multilingual Recognition:** The concept of "statute" has Wikipedia articles in over 100 languages, though this specific law is documented in Brazilian Portuguese
- **Authority Control:** The statute class holds Library of Congress Authority ID sh85127611 and GND ID 4020660-9, placing it within global library classification systems

## Body

### Legal Classification and Identity
Law No. 7163 of December 7, 1983 is formally classified as a statute, which is a specific type of legal instrument defined as a formal written document that creates law. As a statute, it belongs to the broader categories of written work, document, and rule within legal taxonomy systems. The law is an instance of a legal term or legal concept that serves as a manifestation of statutory law. Its creation was caused by the legislative process and specifically by a legal act of promulgation. The statute is composed of legal norms and functions as part of Brazil's broader legal system. It follows draft laws in the legislative process and results in statutory law that governs civil servant career progression. The document is written in Brazilian Portuguese, the official language of Brazil, and is assigned the legal citation Lei nº 7163/1983 for reference purposes.

### Promulgation and Publication Details
The statute was officially promulgated on December 7, 1983 by the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil. President João Figueiredo, who served as Brazil's last military president from 1979 to 1985, signed the law into effect using his presidential authority. The promulgation occurred in Brasília, which has served as Brazil's federal capital since April 22, 1960. The law was published as part of the federal legislative record and is documented through multiple official channels. The LexML Brazil system, which provides unique identifiers for Brazilian legislation, assigns it the persistent identifier urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1983-12-07;7163. This identifier follows the URN:LEX standard, enabling precise digital citation and retrieval.

### Subject Matter and Scope
The law's primary subject is functional progression (progressão funcional) for civil servants (servidores) within Brazil's federal public administration. Its stated purpose, according to the law digest, is to regulate the functional progression referenced in Law 5.645 of December 10, 1970. The statute addresses three main subjects as categorized in its metadata: civil servant (stated as "Servidor"), definition (stated as "Definição"), and legal norm (stated as "Normas"). This indicates the law provides definitions, establishes norms, and specifically targets public sector employees. The legislation applies to the entire jurisdiction of Brazil, meaning it has nationwide effect for federal civil servants across all states and the Federal District.

### Related Legal Framework
Law No. 7163 explicitly connects to Law 5.645 of December 10, 1970, which presumably established foundational provisions for civil servant career advancement. This legislative relationship demonstrates how Brazilian statutory law builds upon previous enactments through amendment, clarification, or supplementation. The law functions within Brazil's constitutional framework established by the Constitution of Brazil, which was in effect from October 5, 1988—five years after this statute's promulgation. During the time of enactment, Brazil operated under the military-era constitution. The statute is part of the federal legislative output of the National Congress of Brazil, which during the military period functioned with limited democratic features. As a federal law, it sits within the hierarchy of norms below the Constitution but above state and municipal legislation.

### Access and Documentation
The full text of Law No. 7163 is publicly accessible through the official Brazilian government portal at https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l7163.htm. This URL is maintained by the Presidency's legislative documentation system. The law is also referenced in the LexML Brazil database, which serves as an official repository for Brazilian legislation with persistent URNs. The statute is part of WikiProject Brazilian Laws, a Wikimedia initiative focused on systematically documenting Brazilian legal instruments. This project ensures the law is cataloged, described, and made accessible within the broader ecosystem of free knowledge. The law's documentation includes multiple timestamps for verification, with reference dates including January 28, 2021, February 17, 2021, and April 6, 2021, indicating ongoing verification of its status and content.

### Historical and Political Context
The law was enacted during the final years of Brazil's military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 to 1985. President João Figueiredo, a military general, presided over the gradual political opening (abertura) that would eventually lead to democratization. The enactment of detailed administrative laws like this one reflects the military government's emphasis on legal formalism and bureaucratic control even as political liberalization began. Brasília, the publication location, represents the modernist capital designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa, which centralized federal administration away from Rio de Janeiro. The law predates Brazil's current 1988 Constitution, meaning it was originally enacted under the authoritarian constitutional order. Its continued availability through modern digital portals demonstrates how Brazil's democratic governments have maintained legal continuity while increasing transparency.

### Technical and Semantic Properties
As a statute, Law No. 7163 inherits the technical properties of its class. It is equivalent to the schema.org/Legislation class, making it compatible with structured data markup used across the web. The statute concept holds a Library of Congress Authority ID of sh85127611 and a GND ID of 4020660-9, though these identifiers refer to the general class of statutes rather than this specific law. The law is in the public domain in jurisdictions like the United States and France under the edict of government doctrine, which holds that official legal texts are not copyrightable. The Dewey Decimal classification for statutes includes 342.057 and 348.02, though this specific law may be cataloged under Brazil-specific classifications. The law's metadata includes properties such as P467, P17 (country), P1001 (applies to jurisdiction), P2567, P2568, P3148, P7588, P953, and P9681, which are Wikidata property codes linking it to other entities and attributes.

### Jurisdictional and Linguistic Context
The law applies to the entire Federative Republic of Brazil, a federal republic occupying 8,515,767 km² in South America. Brazil is composed of 26 states plus one Federal District. The country's official language is Brazilian Portuguese, which is used in all official legal texts including this statute. Brazil's legal system is based on civil law tradition, derived from Portuguese law and Roman law foundations. The statute is part of the federal legislation that uniformly applies across all Brazilian states, including major population centers like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Recife. The law's enactment in 1983 occurred when Brazil's population was approximately 120 million, significantly less than today's 213 million, and the public sector was a major employer under the military's developmental state model.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.lexml.gov.br/urn/urn:lex:br:federal:lei:1983-12-07;7163)
2. [Source](https://legislacao.presidencia.gov.br/atos?tipo=LEI&numero=7163&ano=1983&data=07/12/1983&ato=b71UTTE50dBpWT4f3)
3. LexML Brasil