Jeanne Woods

Professor Jeanne M. Woods is the Ted and Louana Frois Distinguished Professor in International Law Studies at Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she teaches Public International Law, The Law of International Trade, International Human Rights, and Law and Poverty. In 2004 she was a J. William Fulbright Lecturer at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, Peoples’ Republic of China.

Her publications include HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS (Transnational Publishers/Brill 2005) (with Hope Lewis); “Anticipatory Self-Defense and Other Stories,” Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy (2005); “Emerging Paradigms of Protection for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,” Loyola Public Interest Law Journal (2005);“Justiciable Social Rights as a Critique of the Liberal Paradigm,” Texas International Law Journal (2003); “Rights as Slogans: A Theory of Human Rights Based on African Humanism,” National Black Law Journal (2003); “Reconciling Reconciliation,” UCLA Journal of Int'l Law and Foreign Affairs (1998)(critique of South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission); “The Fallacy of Neutrality: Diary of an Election Observer,” Michigan Journal Int'l Law (1997)(analysis of South African elections); “Travel That Talks: Toward First Amendment Protection for Freedom of Movement,” George Washington Law Review (1996); “Presidential Legislating in the Post-Cold War Era: A Critique of the Barr Opinion on Extraterritorial Arrests,” Boston Univ. J. Int'l L. (1996); HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES: A REPORT ON UNITED STATES COMPLIANCE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties Union (1993)(coeditor); “Ending the Cold War at Home,” Foreign Policy (Winter 1990-91) (with Morton Halperin); and “Legal Responsibilities of States with Respect to Apartheid,” United Nations Centre Against Apartheid (1983).

Prior to entering academia, Professor Woods served as Legislative Counsel for the national legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C., focusing on issues related to national security and civil liberties. She provided legal analysis of constitutional issues in pending federal legislation and administrative regulations; drafted legislation, amendments, and committee report language; prepared and delivered testimony before congressional committees; and lobbied members of Congress and executive branch officials on policies affecting civil liberties. Her successes include the enactment of legislation prohibiting ideological visa denials, discontinuing the censorship of educational films, and prohibiting the revocation of passports on political grounds.

In 1985 Professor Woods organized a United Nations-sponsored tour of southern Africa to investigate and document South African destabilization of the “Frontline” States. She served as an accredited international observer of the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, and as an international monitor of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June 1997. She is currently a member of the American Society of International Law Section on Human Rights. She has previously served on the Human Relations Advisory Board of the City of New Orleans, and as the United Nations Liaison Officer for the National Conference of Black Lawyers.

Classes Taught

• International Law Seminar
• Maritime Journal Comment
• International Trade Law

Areas of Expertise

National Security and Civil Liberties