Róbert Ragnar Spanó

Spano's mandate as a Judge and President of the Court ended on 31 October 2022. Spano will join the leading US multinational law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's London office on 1 January 2023 practicing in the field of international arbitration, digital rights, cyberspace, business and human rights (ESG, environment, social and governance) and governmental affairs and policy.

In June 2021, Róbert Ragnar Spanó was invited by Rajko Knez and Damijan Florjančič the presidents of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court to Slovenia. On the 24 June, he also met with president Borut Pahor.

After Spano visited Turkey in September 2020 and received a honorary doctorate from the Istanbul University as the President of the European Court of Human Rights, he received criticism that the act would conflict with the court's stance and principles. Others came to Spano's defence, arguing that Spano had used the freedom of speech that his position guarantees to him, in a country that much suffers, to give courage to those who deserve to receive a free and fair message. Thus, the Court, through its President, had played its proper role for European liberties and democracy.

In November 2013 he was elected a judge to the European Court of Human Rights, serving as its Vice President between 2019–2020 and its president since 2020.

Spano began his legal career as a deputy judge at national level. He then became a legal adviser and special assistant to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, subsequently a tenured professor of law and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Iceland between 2010 and 2013. He was provisionally appointed Parliamentary Ombudsman in 2013 before being elected a judge to the European Court of Human Rights.

Róbert Ragnar Spanó (born 27 August 1972) is an Icelandic jurist, Judge and former President of the European Court of Human Rights. He started his tenure on 18 May 2020, succeeding Judge Sicilianos from Greece. Before beginning his service on the Court on 1 November 2013, he served provisionally as Parliamentary Ombudsman of Iceland and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Iceland. Spano's mandate as a Judge and President of the Court ended on 31 October 2022 when he was succeeded by Judge Siofra O'Leary.

Spano was born in Reykjavík on 27 August 1972. He graduated with a Candidatus Juris degree from the University of Iceland in 1997 and a Magister Juris degree with distinction in European and comparative law from the University of Oxford (University College) in 2000. At Oxford, he was awarded the Clifford Chance Prize (proxime accessit) and the Civil Procedure Prize for his scholastic achievements.