50 YEARS OF THE JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES ACT: JOINT-STOCK CORPORATIONS

Abstract

Esteemed readers,

It is with great respect and enthusiasm that I address each of you. On December 15, 2026, the Joint-Stock Companies Law (Lei das Sociedades Anônimas) marks its 50th anniversary in force. It stands as the regulatory framework for Brazilian companies, governing the rights and duties of shareholders and administrators while ensuring transparency, protection, and balance for the entities—whether publicly held (with shares traded on the stock exchange) or privately held (without trading on the stock market). This date coincides with the enactment of Law No. 6.404 of December 15, 1976, which governs joint-stock companies. Also marking 50 years in force is Law No. 6.385 of December 7, 1976, which regulates the securities market and established the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM). These two aforementioned laws are intrinsically linked and operate complementarily in Brazil; both were enacted in the same year (1976) to structure the country's equity and capital markets. It is worth noting that joint-stock companies are enterprises with share capital divided into shares, regulated by their corporate bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Joint-Stock Companies Law. Thus, this book is proposed to mark the fifty years that Law No. 6.404 of December 15, 1976, has been in effect. Without claiming to exhaust the subject—and aimed at students, researchers, investigators, and specialists in the legal and capital market fields—the work seeks to reflect on this regulation. It is considered a positive and fundamental statute for economic activity and the Brazilian capital market, as it establishes the management and governance structures of large corporations and regulates and protects the capital of major investors. However, even with advances in information technology and the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), registration and accounting procedures—specifically regarding financial statements—can still be viewed as complex and bureaucratic. This makes the framework less attractive to small businesses and indicates a need for future legislative updates.