José Teixeira joined DTA in 2013 after having served as a Member of National Parliament (2007 to 2012) and also a Member of Government (2002 to 2007). His practice focuses on environmental law, renewable energy, dispute resolution, domestic and foreign investment, tourism, oil and gas, and infrastructure.
As a former Minister, Deputy Minister, and Secretary of State for Natural Resources, Minerals and Energy Policy, and Secretary of State for Tourism, Investment, and Environment, José was one of the principal architects of Timor-Leste’s petroleum laws and regulations, the sovereign wealth fund, the law on commercial companies, and domestic and external investment laws. José also oversaw the completion of the first Timorese Government studies on renewable energy, such as solar, hydro power, wind power, and biogas, and initiated the process for Timor-Leste to become a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
From 2004 to 2006, José led the Timorese Government team in negotiations with the Australian Government over maritime resource sharing arrangements in the Timor Sea that resulted in the signing of the Treaty Concerning Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS). He also served as a Commissioner representing Timor-Leste in the Timor Sea Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) Joint Commission and later as a member representing Timor-Leste on the Ministerial Council for the JPDA.
José Teixeira is routinely invited by international organizations, Government Ministers, and Parliamentary Commissions to advise on legislative proposals. More recently, he was involved in Parliamentary Commission A’s discussion on the Judicial Reform Package. He also assisted the Asian Development Bank on international arbitration reform in Timor-Leste (as National Legal Expert), in the context of a broader project to help improve investment in the South Pacific region.
José also continues to be very passionate about and active in environmental policy action, having recently (2021-2022) drafted a Decree-Law on control of imports and exports of ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to ensure Timor-Leste's compliance and ascension to the Kigali Convention. In this project, as in many others that preceded it, José has shown his talent for undertaking consultation with government ministries and other stakeholders, including preparing and holding public consultation sessions nationally.
José is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Singapore Branch). He was also a member of the Supreme Council of the State Prosecutors Office (2015 to 2023) and sat on the Petroleum Fund Consultative Council – Timor-Leste (2013 to 2018). In June 2022, he was appointed as a member of the Commission for the Recruitment and Selection of Timor-Leste’s first Supreme Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal.
José holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and Economic History) from the University of New England and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland.
Prior to returning to Timor-Leste, José was a lawyer in Queensland, Australia, practicing mainly in commercial and property litigation, planning and development law, administrative and constitutional law, tax law, native title, and resource law.
José speaks English, Tetum, Portuguese, and Spanish.