SJD Candidate
Thesis title:
Disasters and Developing Countries: Reflective self-critique as a mechanism to overcome obstacles to institutional reform
Office in Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park
Toronto, M5S 2C5
Tel:
6478398076
Email: kanksha.ghimire@mail.utoronto.ca

Kanksha Mahadevia Ghimire is a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. In her current research, she explores how institutional mechanisms could improve the adoption and implementation of disaster risk mitigation practices. The goal is to prevent new disasters from becoming missed opportunities; to learn from them and improve. More specifically, she explores how self-critique may be utilized as a mechanism to encourage public institutions in developing countries to adopt and effectively implement best practices proposed for disaster risk mitigation. In her research, Kanksha focuses on disasters triggered by natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones.

She completed her Master of Laws degree (LLM) from the University of Toronto, and received the W.C.G. Howland Prize which is awarded annually for the most outstanding performance in the LLM programme. 

Kanksha has been a legal practitioner for over 10 years. After obtaining her law degree, she worked in premier corporate law firms in India for almost 7 years. She worked for 2.5 years in Vanuatu, an SIDS, as a legal specialist; heading the legal team of a statutory regulator responsible for regulating electricity and water services. She has interned with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) - Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. She is currently working as a consultant with the World Bank's Legal Vice Presidency (Washington DC, US).

In the academic field, she has been an adjunct faculty at the School of Law, University of the South Pacific (Vanuatu) since 2014.  She is a researcher for Professors Michael Trebilcock, Mariana Mota Prado and Trudo Lemmens at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto.

Education
S.J.D. Candidate – University of Toronto
LL.M. - University of Toronto (2016 - 2017)
B.S.L, LL.B. (First Class) - ILS Law College, University of Pune, India (2002 - 2007)
Awards and Distinctions
SSHRC Talent Award – 2021 (Finalist)
Three Minute Thesis Competition – 2021 (Final Round)
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, SSHRC
W.C.G. Howland Prize for best overall performance in the LL.M. University of Toronto 2016-17
Ginnidevi Satyanarayan Sekhsaria Memorial Trust Scholarship 2016-17
AAUW International Master's Fellowship 2016-17 by American Association of University Women (Declined)
Pradeep Khare Memorial Scholarship, 2016-17
Professional Affiliations
Canadian Law and Economics Association
Disaster and Emergency Research Network
Law and Development Research Network
Selected Publications

Book:

  • Lemmens, T., Bergman, J., Mahadevia Ghimire, K. & Shahid, M. Medical Law in Canada (2nd ed.). (Wolters Kluwer International Group, 2020).

Book Chapters:

  • Trebilcock, M J, and Ghimire, K. “Regulating Alternative Medicines: Disorder in the Borderlands” in Michael J Trebilcock, Paradoxes of Professional Regulation: In Search of Regulatory Principles (Toronto: University of Toronto, 2022)
  • Trebilcock, M J, and Ghimire, K. “Regulating Mental Health Care Providers: Building Stronger Signposts through the Maze” in Michael J Trebilcock, Paradoxes of Professional Regulation: In Search of Regulatory Principles (Toronto: University of Toronto, 2022)
  • Mahadevia Ghimire, K, & Lemmens, T. “Balancing the Privacy Rights of Research Participants with Public Interest in Clinical Drug Trials Data in the Context of Rare Diseases” in Katherine Fierlbeck et al, eds, Policy Gain or Confidence Game? Transparency and the Pharmaceutical Industry in Comparative Perspective (Toronto: University of Toronto, Forthcoming)
  • Lemmens, T, & Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2020). “Regulation of Health Professions in Ontario: Lessons Learned from a System Situated Between Full Self-regulation and Direct State Control of Health Professionals” in Fernando Aith et al, eds, Regulação das Profissões de Saúde no Brasil e em Perspectiva Comparada [trans. Regulation of Health Professions in Brazil and in a Comparative Perspective] (Sao Paulo: CEPEDISA, 2020) 356-423. Available at: http://cepedisa.org.br/publicacoes/ and http://napdisa.prp.usp.br/pt/publicacoes/  

Journal Articles:

  • Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2021). Natural Disasters and Weak Government Institutions: Creating a Vicious Cycle that Ensnares Developing Countries. Law and Development Review. 14(1): 59-104. Available at https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2020-0014.
  • Lemmens, T, & Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2019). Regulation of Health Professions in Ontario: Self-regulation with Statutory- based Public Accountability. Revista de Direito Sanitário / Journal of Health Law. 19(3): 124-204. Available at: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rdisan/article/view/158505 

  • Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2018). Path Dependence, Abnormal Times and Missed Opportunities: Case Studies of Catastrophic Natural Disasters From India and Nepal. Law and Development Review. 11(1): 31-76. Available at https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2017-0040

  • Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2016). Abuse of Court Process: A Study of How Vanuatu Court of Appeal Has Addressed Abuse of Court Process Over Two Decades. Journal of South Pacific Law. 2: 64-80. Available at: https://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=20627 

Journal Issue:

  • Trebilcock, M J, & Mahadevia Ghimire, K. (2019). Regulating Alternative Medicines: Disorder in the Borderlands. C D Howe Institute Commentary No. 541. Available at https://www.cdhowe.org/print/7325    

Report:

Blog:

Research Interests
Administrative Law
Economic Analysis of Law
Law and International Development
Supervisor
Mariana Mota Prado
Michael Trebilcock
Committee Members
Andrew Green
External links
LinkedIn
Twitter
Disaster and Emergency Research Network
Law and Development Research Network
SSRN