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Samantha Robb

Senior Associate | Ocean Litigation

“Protecting the Ocean is vital not only for the survival of humanity, but also for the inherent value of marine ecosystems themselves. Through strategic litigation, we can hold accountable those who threaten the Ocean’s health, and safeguard vulnerable ecosystems and the rights of all living species, present and future.”

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Samantha Robb’s work focuses on high-impact international litigation aimed at developing, strengthening, and enforcing marine environmental protection laws and commitments, with a particular emphasis on marine protection in the context of deep seabed mining. A qualified lawyer and trained public interest litigator, Samantha spent six years at one of South Africa’s leading law firms (Webber Wentzel), with a focus on representing communities in cases that spanned Human Rights, environmental justice, and constitutional law. She holds an LLM in Public International Law, specialising in Oceans, the Environment, and Sustainability (cum laude) from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Her LLM thesis focused on the legality of the call for a moratorium on deep seabed mining, a subject that continues to shape her work today.

With extensive expertise in both International Law of the Sea and Human Rights, Samantha brings a unique perspective to legal issues at the intersection of Ocean protection and social justice, ensuring that environmental protection efforts also seek to uphold fundamental human rights and vice versa.

Samantha’s current focus areas include deep seabed mining, marine protection through area-based management tools, the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment and how it relates to Ocean issues, the BBNJ Agreement, bottom trawling, and Whaling. She brings deep experience working at the intersection of science, law, and policy - a crucial skill for navigating the complex currents of ocean governance. 

Her work is grounded in accountability, ecosystem protection, and a vision for legal tools that defend both people and the planet.

Qualifications & academics

  • Qualified Lawyer - Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa (2018)

  • Master of Laws (LLM) (cum laude) in Public International Law, specialising in Oceans, the Environment, and Sustainability, Utrecht University, the Netherlands (2022)

  • Bachelor of Laws (LLB), University of Cape Town, South Africa (2014)

  • Bachelor of Arts (Law and History), University of Cape Town, South Africa (2011)

Examples of Legal Work

Samantha’s legal practice is grounded in a rich history of public interest litigation, spanning environmental law, human rights, constitutional rights, and corporate accountability. Her past experience informs her current work, applying the same strategic, justice-driven approach to emerging legal challenges in the Ocean and marine protection space.

  • Developing legal assessments, regulatory reviews, and strategic litigation initiatives focused on advancing State accountability in marine environmental protection, across a diverse set of confidential cases.

  • Legal researcher for a trans-disciplinary project focused on protecting deep seabed hydrothermal vents using area-based management tools in the context of deep seabed mining (2022 / 2023).

  • Attending International Seabed Authority meetings since 2022. Contributing to ISA Mining Code negotiations through Observer, the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI).

  • Organised a stakeholder workshop for MiningImpact-3, a leading international research project investigating the environmental impacts of future deep seabed mining (June 2024).

  • Defending environmental activists in a precedent-setting SLAPP suit, where our team introduced the SLAPP defense as a special plea—a first in South African law.

  • Supporting families of apartheid-era victims in their ongoing search for justice, through litigation tied to the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

  • Representing vulnerable communities in litigation against the South African Government to secure fundamental socio-economic rights such as access to water, education, and electricity.

Presentations, guest lectures, and other contributions

  • ‘The ISA’s area-based management tools: A state of affairs’ at a Stakeholder Event at Utrecht University, the Netherlands on Deep Seabed Mining and Hydrothermal Vents (May 2023).

  • ‘How do we best benefit humankind? Exploring the environmental, equity, and other interests affected by a moratorium on deep seabed mining’ at a Workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hague, the Netherlands on Filling the legal toolbox for working towards ocean sustainability: UNCLOS, UNCLOS 2.0 and/or what else? (November 2022)

  • Guest Lecturer for MSc Marine Conservation students, University of Groningen, the Netherlands on International Law of the Sea and deep seabed mining (2022 & 2023)

  • ​Contributing author to the UN World Ocean Assessment III (2024) 

  • 'ABMTs under the BBNJ Agreement: Reflections on Cooperation with the ISA' at a workshop hosted by the IUCN, together with UN DOALOS and UNECA: Regional workshop on the BBNJ Agreement for Eastern and Southern Africa (December 2025).

  • Panel member at the Icelandic Environmental Ministry's Environmental Assembly, Rejkjavic, Iceland (September 2025) 

  • 'Cooperation and Consistency are Key: Ensuring coherence in area-based management tool networks between the ISA and the BBNJ Agreement' for the Center for Polar and Deep Ocean Development of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU-DOD) on The Interaction between Deep Seabed Mining Regime and BBNJ Agreement: Law and Science (October 2023)

Publications

Personal

  • Samantha loves to explore nature, travel, and experience new cultures and cuisines. Her favourite activities are snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, and snowboarding. While originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Samantha is currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Check out more publications, lectures, and videos on our
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