Inge van der Vlies: In the Presence of Law

Amsetrdam, 13 november 2008: Several years ago I met Inge van der Vlies while she was involved with helping musicians to safeguard their finances. In love with music and aware of the fragility of the position of the musician, especially of those who are challenging the boundaries, she put her best effort to help.

Later we met in academic context and others. Her clear mind and mild presence immediately catches attention. When I decided to pursue the research on witnessed presence, I was very happy that professor van der Vlies accepted to be the first person we would interview. Since the witness is a crucial figure in law, it made sense to first find out about the position of the witness in court. Because professor van der Vlies specialized in Constitutional Law as well as in the field of Art and Law, I was able to inquire about the ‘social engineering’ of the process of law. Making the bridge to system design, to making things happen, would therefore be feasible. Understanding more about the position of the witness in court sheds an interesting light on witnessed presence and the responsibility that results from it. At the end of the interview we agreed that this conversation is only the beginning of a longer process of inquiry.

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Read the interview here