Professor Escarameia was elected to the Commission in October 2003. She is a member of the UN International Law Commission and a Professor of International Law at the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. Previously, Prof. Escarameia taught International and Public International Law at the Superior Institute for Naval Warfare in Portugal, the University of East Asia, Macau, Portuguese Catholic University, and the Higher Institute of Business, Portugal.

Since 1995, Prof. Escarameia has been a member of the Portuguese delegation to the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court. She also served as legal counsel to the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the UN from 1995 to 1998. She is also Vice President of the International Centre for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, based in Lisbon, Portugal. From 1992 to 1994, she was the Director of the Centre for International Institutions in Lisbon, Portugal.

Prof. Escarameia holds a PhD in Law and an LLM from Harvard Law School, USA, a diploma in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University, USA and a law degree from the Portuguese Catholic University.