Kushtrim Istrefi

About/Bio

Kushtrim Istrefi is Associate Professor of Human Rights Law and Public International Law at Utrecht University. He is coordinator of the Research Platform on Peace, Security and Human Rights, member of the Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law (Ucall), the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) and substitute member of the Venice Commission.

Recently Published

The Security Council and the Western Sahara: Between Self-Determination and Implicit Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty

On 31 October 2025, the Security Council voted in favour of Resolution 2797 extending the mandate of the long-standing UN mission to Western Sahara, but this time referenced Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Proposal - which envisions the territory as self-governing under Moroccan sovereignty - as a basis for negotiations and the final status of Western Sahara. Although the…

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Lex Mitior “on trial” before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers: Whither Legality

On 17 April 2025, the Kosovo Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court (Chamber) issued a worrying judgment regarding the more lenient punishment – the lex mitior principle under Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and Article 33 of the Kosovo Constitution. The reasoning relies on the legal status…

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Mind Your Attitude: The Erosion of International Law?

Recurring breaches and non-enforcement of international law have persisted since the adoption of the UN Charter and the establishment of the post-World War II (WWII) legal order, which remains in place today. Scholars have repeatedly issued death certificates to Article 2.4 of the UN Charter and have raised fundamental questions about the weaknesses of this legal system and…

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