Much of Wim’s work focuses on practices of legal interpretation. His current research explores the role of legal advice in the making of state violence, and the responsibilities of government legal advisers who help determine the legal limits of state violence by interpreting (international) law.

Trained in law and the social sciences, Wim brings a distinctive sociolegal perspective to the study of international law. His forthcoming monograph, Interpretation as Reputation Management: On the Social Life of International Law, explores how collective actors like states present themselves to others through their interpretations of international law. By showing how reputation contributes to stabilisation and change in interpretive practice, the book renders the social life of international law more visible. It will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Before rejoining the University of Amsterdam, Wim was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Salzburg. He has been a visiting researcher at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, the International Institute for the Sociology of Law, and the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the European Society of International Law Interest Group on Social Sciences and International Law. He also worked as a legal officer at the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service’s Centre for International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in Amsterdam. He holds an LLM, an LLB, a BSc in Sociology, and a BSc in Human Geography and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Amsterdam.