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prof. dr. Bart van Klink

Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Legal Theory and Legal History

Full Professor, Kooijmans Institute

Full Professor, Research Programmes - Law, Boundaries of Law

Personal information

Bart van Klink is Professor of Legal Methodology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He obtained his PhD (cum laude) from Tilburg University in 1998 with a dissertation on legal communication and symbolism. Before joining Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2009, he was a lecturer in jurisprudence at Tilburg University. In 2010 he delivered his inaugural lecture on legal forms and legal change. Until October 2026, he served as Head of the Department of Legal Theory and Legal History. He has served on the boards of the Dutch Association for the Socio-Legal Study of Law (VSR) and the Netherlands Association for Philosophy of Law (VWR). Van Klink plays a leading role in the development of the legal skills curriculum at the VU Faculty of Law. His research focuses on legal methodology, legal education and academic skills, particularly critical thinking, as well as utopian and dystopian imaginaries in law and politics, populism and authoritarianism, deep disagreement, and legal and political rhetoric.

Research

Van Klink participates in the research programme Boundaries of Law. His research focuses on legal methodology and legal theory, in particular on legal argumentation, legal education, academic skills, and critical thinking. He studies how critical thinking can be fostered in legal education, especially in the context of the increasing use of generative AI, and how legal curricula can prepare students to address contemporary existential challenges. His work further examines deep disagreement in legal and political debate, exploring the contribution of rhetorical approaches to constructive engagement across conflicting perspectives. In addition, he investigates the conditions under which the rule of law can be maintained in response to contemporary pressures, including populism, authoritarianism, and ecological disruption. He is also interested in the role of utopian and dystopian imaginaries in legal and political thought.

Teaching

I teach and supervise students at bachelor's, master's, and PhD level in the fields of legal methodology, legal theory, and academic legal skills. My educational work focuses on fostering critical thinking, legal argumentation, legal research skills, and academic writing. At the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, I play a leading role in the development of the legal skills curriculum within the Faculty of Law. I am also involved in the supervision of bachelor theses and doctoral researchers. In addition, I annually teach courses in legal methodology for the FHR Institute for Higher Education in Paramaribo. My teaching aims to equip students and researchers with the methodological and intellectual skills required for academic inquiry and professional legal practice.

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