Progressive Legislative Policy Making in India: A Conversation with Dhvani Mehta

We are pleased to invite Dr. Dhvani Mehta (Co-founder at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, New Delhi) for an informal discussion with students and faculty members at Oxford. She will primarily be speaking about the mechanics and politics of engaging with the Indian Government to promote progressive legislative policy reforms, with a focus on her work in the areas of environmental protection, health and disability rights. The session will be moderated by Dr. Tarunabh Khaitan (Professor of Public Law and Legal Theory, and Head of Research in the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights).

Dr. Dhvani Mehta is a co-founder of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, an independent think-based based in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai that does legal research to make better laws and improve governance for the public good. She has worked specifically on research projects on environmental clearances, the National Green Tribunal, organ transplant laws, end of life care, and pharmaceutical and medical device regulation. She has appeared in the Supreme Court of India in petitions filed by Vidhi on advance medical directives and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy. She has authored chapters on the implementation of environmental judgments and healthcare corruption in India.

Dr. Mehta read for a Bachelor in Civil Law and a D.Phil in Law at the University of Oxford on the Rhodes Scholarship from 2009-2014. During this time, she was Chairperson of Oxford Pro Bono Publico and an editor of the Oxford Human Rights Hub blog. Her doctoral thesis explores the idea of an environmental rule of law in India and was cited by the Supreme Court of India.

Refreshments will be served!