Born in 1927 in the municipality of Vagos, Mário Júlio Brito de Almeida Costa attended D. João III High School in Coimbra. After completing his degree and the Complementary Course in Legal Sciences at the Faculdade de Direito de Coimbra [University of Coimbra Faculty of Law], he was invited to become an assistant there. He passed successive doctoral exams in 1958 and achieved the position of Extraordinary Professor in 1961, becoming a full professor in 1962. His academic formation was influenced by prominent professors from Coimbra and internationally, particularly from Germany, Italy, and France.

He specialised in the fields of the History of Law and the Law of Obligations. He served as Minister of Justice for more than six years (1967–1973) and subsequently became President of the Câmara Corporativa [Corporative Chamber] and a member of the Conselho de Estado [Council of State]. He was also Deputy Governor of the Banco de Portugal [Bank of Portugal] (Central Bank). In January 2002, he was elected President of the Assembleia Municipal de Vagos [Vagos Municipal Assembly].

He has lectured at universities in Portugal and abroad, particularly in Brazil, where he is an honorary professor at the Faculty of Law of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul [Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul] (Brazil). He also served on the Board of Governors of the European University Institute in Florence. He played a key role in the establishment of the Faculty of Law at the University of Porto, which awarded him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa. He contributes to scientific journals within his field, both in Portugal and internationally, and serves on the editorial boards of several publications, including the Boletim da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra [Bulletin of the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra], the Revista de Legislação e de Jurisprudência [Journal of Legislation and Jurisprudence] (Coimbra), and the Rivista Internazionale di Diritto Comune [International Journal of Common Law] (Rome/Erice).

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