José Angelo Estrella Faria is Senior Legal Officer and Head, Technical Assistance Unite, at the secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in Vienna (Austria)

From 1 October 2008 to 31 July 2017, he was the Secretary-General of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROITT), an independent intergovernmental organization based in Rome (Italy) and devoted to the unification and harmonization of private law worldwide.

Until his appointment to UNIDROIT, Mr. Faria had worked at the UNCITRAL secretariat from 1996 to 2008. As secretary to the relevant intergovernmental working groups, he was responsible for UNCITRAL work on privately financed infrastructure projects and electronic commerce. He also supervised the work of Working Group III (Transport Law) between 2005 and 2008.

Before joining the United Nations in 1992, he had worked as an attorney in Brazil, specialising in commercial and trade law.

He has published articles and books, and taught various courses on legal harmonisation, commercial law and international law