Profile of Invited Expert “Apple”

Profile

Full Name

Betsy Apple, J.D.

Position

Advocacy Director

Organization

Open Society Justice Initiative

URL

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/people/betsy-apple

Biography

Betsy Apple is advocacy director for the Open Society Justice Initiative based in New York. She brings litigation and advocacy experience on a broad range of human rights and international justice issues.

Prior to joining the Open Society Foundations, Apple was the legal director/general counsel for a small advocacy organization, AIDS-Free World, where she led the legal team filing a challenge to the Jamaican anti-sodomy law at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She has also served as the director of the Crimes Against Humanity program at Human Rights First, deputy director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), and the managing/legal director of EarthRights International, in Thailand and the United States.

Apple has consulted for various organizations including Refugees International and the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma. She was a 2011-12 Wasserstein Fellow at Harvard Law School, and currently is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches international human rights law.

History

Member for: 8 years 34 weeks

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michelleg30: Transitional Justice as an Alternative to Prosecution in the Israel–Palestine Conflict I. Introduction War is not “pareto optimal.”1 According to the “bargaining theory of war,” a sustainable peace agreement is more beneficial to both sides than continued conflict.2 Transitional justice, the “processes and mechanisms associated with a society’s attempt to come to terms with a legacy of... (more)
huangz2024: The Matter of Statehood on the Palestine Issue I. Introduction In 2021, the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) received a request from the Prosecutor related to territorial jurisdiction over Palestine and issued its response and decision to the request. The main conclusion of the decision was to extend the jurisdiction to “the territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely Gaza and the West Bank,... (more)
Katharina Schapfeld: Preventing Genocide: What Are the Duties of State Parties Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and How Could They Be Fulfilled in the Current Situation? I. Introduction “There can be no more important issue, no more binding obligation, than the prevention of genocide.”1 The year 2023 doesn’t only mark the 75th anniversary of the... (more)
freyaschmidt: How Can Israel Ensure Proportionality in its Response to Hamas’ Attacks? I. Introduction With Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the situation that has been smoldering for decades has entered the next round. It is accompanied by countless legal questions that revolve around the legal classification of Palestine and thus the admissibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the role of international (... (more)
Jordan Murphy: The Claim of Genocide Filed Against Israel: The Elements of a Genocide Charge and its Application to the Situation in Palestine Speaking on the claim of genocide filed against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2023, Palestine representative Gilles Devers asserted that the requisite criteria having been established in Gaza is not an opinion but “a reality of law.”1 Such a claim is a strong one: only two cases have... (more)
AA375: The Israel/Hamas Situation Through the Lens of the ICC Introduction The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to investigate, prosecute, and try individuals for the most serious crimes, namely the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.1 The ICC has a responsibility to tackle situations of high gravity affecting the interests of the international community... (more)
Pilgrim: Palestinian Statehood Under the Montevideo Convention: An Unconventional Approach I. Introduction For the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have jurisdiction over the situation in Gaza and Israel after the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, Palestine must be a State.1 The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (Montevideo Convention) provides a four-element test for Statehood.2 To be a State under... (more)
Kellan Grant: I. Introduction On October 7, 2023, a widespread surprise attack on Israel was launched by Hamas leaders, commanders, and militants in which they invaded Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip. Since then, an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has ensued. Devastatingly, many civilians in both Israel and the Palestine area have lost their lives as a result. Since October 7, 2023, there have been numerous assertions made that various crimes are being,... (more)
Joan Komolafe: What is the Threshold of the Right to Defend Oneself? An Analysis of the Current Israeli–Palestine Conflict, Under the Legal Definitions of the Rome Statute I. Abstract Few hostilities have consumed the international psyche and caused as much polarization as the Israel and Palestine conflict. In particular, the intensification of violence between Israel and Gaza in October of 2023 has caused a global re-examination of... (more)
MelissaHernandez: The October 7th attacks launched what appears to be one of the worst humanitarian crises in the last decades. With more than 1,200 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, killed in a single day, and about 240 hostages, this day is being characterized as “the deadliest day for Jews since the holocaust.”1 On the other hand, the Hamas attack triggered an Israeli response that has resulted in more than 11,000 deaths in Gaza, which would surpass the total number of... (more)
msperling: Palestine at the International Criminal Court: Overzealous Jurisdiction Preventing Peacemaking Introduction On October 7, 2023, fighters affiliated with the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip attacked Israel, raping, torturing, and kidnapping Israeli men, women, and children. Around 1200 people, a vast majority of whom were civilians, were killed, and 240 were taken hostage. More than 130 of the hostages are still in captivity or have since been... (more)