Robert Spano

Robert Spano is a partner in the London and Paris offices and the co-chair of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Practice Group. He practices in the field of EU litigation, international dispute resolution and advises on regulatory matters. He is a member of the Transnational Litigation, International Arbitration, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation, Technology Regulatory and Litigation, and Public Policy Practice Groups.

He is a leading expert in public international law, business and human rights, EU law and the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, bringing unparalleled experience from senior roles in the judiciary, private practice and academia.

Robert is listed in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom as a leading lawyer for Human Rights and Public International Law. He is also recognised by The Legal 500 UK 2024  for International Arbitration and Public International Law and was named to both to the 2024 Lawdragon’s 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors and 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers lists.

He is the former president of the European Court of Human Rights, the youngest judge ever to be elected to the presidency in the Court’s 60 year history. When leaving the Court his colleagues published a Liber Amicorum in his honour stating that ‘during his term as president he demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, showing creativity and imagination in improving the functioning of the Strasbourg institution”.

Robert sits on the Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators of the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and is an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple.

Recent and ongoing representations include:

Artificial Intelligence, EU Platform Regulation/Compliance and EU Litigation

• Lead counsel for a multinational company in a judicial review action before the Court of Justice of the European Union under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
• Advising a global online platform on regulatory compliance in the implementation of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
• Advising a multinational company on the intersection between artificial intelligence and fundamental rights under EU law.
• Advising a multinational company on the interplay between the EU AI Act and the GDPR (‘General Data Protection Regulation’).
• Advising a multinational company on AI governance and the use of generative AI in product development.
• Advising a multinational company in the EU consumer protection field on access to documents before national authorities and the European Commission.

International Arbitration, Public International law, the European Convention on Human Rights, Climate Change law and Business and Human Rights (ESG)

• Counsel for the defendant in an international commercial arbitration in the aluminium and energy sectors.
• Provided an independent expert opinion in enforcement proceedings under the ICSID-Convention.
• Provided an independent expert opinion in an ongoing dispute between Sovereign States under public international law and international human rights law.
• Advising a sovereign state in the establishment of a new international treaty-based organisation for the promotion of regional economic and environmental collaboration.
• Advising a multinational company on fundamental rights issues under the European Convention on Human Rights in competition proceedings before the German national courts.
• Advising a multinational company on fundamental rights issues under the European Convention on Human Rights in proceedings under data protection law in France.
• Advising a multinational finance institution on its rights under the European Convention on Human Rights in criminal proceedings before the French national courts.
• Advising the National Power Company of Iceland (Landsvirkjun) on its compliance with the minimum safeguards criteria of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
• Advising multinational companies on disclosures under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
• Advising multinational companies on business and human rights obligations under EU law and international human rights law.
• Advising a multinational company in the field of climate change litigation.
• Advising a multinational company on the legal status of its employees resident in a third-state under international human rights law.
• Drafted a report, at the request of the Prime Minister of Iceland, on amendments to the human rights chapter of the Constitution of the Republic of Iceland.

Robert is a visiting professor of law at the University of Oxford and also serves part-time as a tenured professor of law at the University of Iceland, where he served as dean of the faculty before being elected to the international judiciary.

Robert graduated with a Magister Juris Degree in European and Comparative Law from the University of Oxford where he was awarded the Clifford Chance Prize (proxime accessit) and the Civil Procedure Prize for his scholastic achievements. Prior to his studies at Oxford, he studied international trade law and EU law at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and graduated with a Candidatus Juris Degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Iceland.

Robert is admitted to the Icelandic Bar (EEA lawyer) and is a registered foreign lawyer in the United Kingdom.

He is fluent in English, French, Italian, Danish and is a native Icelandic speaker.

Professional activities and pro-bono service

• Member, Board of the Register of Damage for Ukraine.
• Arbitrator, ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators, World Bank.
• President of the Board of Patrons, Gender Champions in the Judiciary Network.
• Visiting Fellow, Mansfield College, Oxford.
• Member, Board of the Academy of International Affairs (NRW), Bonn.
• Patron, ELSA (European Law Student's Association) Law Review.
• Member, Advisory Board, ECHR Law Review.
• Member, Advisory Board, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool.

Capabilities

• International Arbitration
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Artificial Intelligence
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
• Judgment and Arbitral Award Enforcement
• Litigation
• Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
• Public Policy
• Tech and Innovation
• Transnational Litigation

Credentials

Education:

• University of Oxford - 2000 Magister Juris
• University of Iceland - 1997 Law Degree

Admissions:

• Iceland - Icelandic Bar