Dr Amir Bastani 

L.L.B, M.A, PhD in law (graduated from the University of Otago in 2015) 

A lawyer with more than 11 years experience 

 

Our founder is Dr Bastani who was admitted to the Bar for the first time in 2005. After completing his Master degree in the intersection of law and behavioural genetics, he immigrated to New Zealand in 2011. He was offered a scholarship to do a PhD degree in Law. He did his PhD degree at the University Otago, Faculty of Law, under the supervision of the Dean of the Law Faculty, and the head of the law and emerging technologies centre. Within an exceptional 3 years and 4 months time, Dr Amir completed his PhD thesis titled as 'the Claim of Loss of Self-Control: Some Challenges of the Genetic-Based Defence to Criminal Responsibility'. 

 

Dr Bastani published several academic articles in national and international prestigious journals, some of his articles are in this link. 

 

Dr Bastani was employed by a New Zealand Government Department, and his last position was a Learning & Development Adviser, Radicalisation Awareness Project, advising Chief Executive's Advisory Group. This experience helped Dr Bastani to obtain internal knowledge about the New Zealand Government system.  

 

Dr Bastani then started his lectureship at the University of Canterbury.  The passion to help clients, drove Dr Bastani to practice law and he continued his legal practice. Dr Bastani was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2020. Immediately he was offered a handful of job offers from top law firms in Christchurch, and he worked for a suburban law firm obtaining an insight into various areas of law including: family trust, relationship property disputes, estate planning. He lead the immigration practice in that suburban law firm, and in 2023, Dr Bastani established Legal Wise as his own law practice, and his areas of practice are the following:

• Immigration
• Refugee law
• Property
• Business sale and purchase
• Relationship property, contracting out agreements, separation agreements,
• Estate planning
• Human rights
• Coronial Inquiry

 

 

Consultancy and providing expert opinions for other lawyers and Courts

• Dr Bastani studied Islamic Law (both LLB and Master’s degrees) and practiced law in an Islamic jurisdiction, Iran, for approximately 5 years. In Iran, Dr Bastani appeared in various court levels. Dr Bastani is currently holding his Iranian practicing certificate. It is understood that Dr Bastani is one of few lawyers in New Zealand and Australia who studied Islamic legal jurisprudence  and has expertise in this  niche area. 

 

• Dr Bastani’s expertise in Islamic law has been recognized by the New Zealand Court of Appeal in a refugee case (CV (Bangladesh) v Refugee and Protection Officer [2020] NZCA 431). Using his knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, Dr Bastani provides expert opinions on matters related to Islamic law and their intersection with New Zealand legal issues. Dr Bastani has been instructed by New Zealand Barristers to provide expert opinions in the following areas: 

 

- interfaith marriage between a couple coming from various schools of Islam. 

- refugee claims and appeals for matters related to perceived persecutions of states by reason of apostacy, atheism and similar reasons. 

- custody of children per Islamic rules. 

- In vitro fertilization (IVF) and childhood in Islamic law. 

- relationship property disputes and separation agreements. 

- mahr and dowry as promised in the context of an Islamic marriage  

 

• Dr Bastani has been instructed by a New Zealand High Court in matters related to relationship property disputes and mahr. 

 

 

• Some examples of decisions that we provided expert opinions for:

1. JC (India) [2020] NZIPT 801529
2. KA (India) [2020] NZIPT 801719, 801723
3. BA (Nigeria) [2021] NZIPT 801846
4. CV (Bangladesh) v Refugee and Protection Officer [2020] NZCA 431
5. RO (India) [2024] NZIPT 802300

 

 

 

Outside of work

Here are some lesser-known facts about Amir: 

• He is married with two young children.  
• He has been a mountain climber, rock climber, and he enjoys his time in nature.
• He enjoys spending time with his family in nature or doing astronomy.
• He spends time learning about the history of law in the Persian Empire, the Code of Hammurabi, and pre Babylonian time.