Cemil Şaar

I am an attorney registered with the Istanbul Bar Association and a founding partner at KST Law & Consultancy in Istanbul. I advise foreign investors, companies and individuals on Turkish law. My practice concentrates on private international law, crypto asset regulation, intellectual property, commercial law and the procedural problems that arise when a foreign party invests or litigates in Turkey.

I handle company formation and structuring, contract management, work and residence permits, real estate acquisition, litigation and enforcement. A large part of the work is cross-border: Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, service of documents on foreign nationals, security for costs and the reciprocity questions those raise. My clients operate mainly in construction, hospitality, textiles, fashion and Web3.

On the digital asset side, I advise on the licensing of crypto asset service providers, custody and travel-rule compliance, and the classification of tokens under Turkish law. I have litigated many cryptocurrency misappropriation cases and these continue to be a focus for me.

My academic work runs parallel to my practice. I hold an LL.B. from Istanbul Aydın University (2019) and an LL.M. with honours from İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University (2021), where my thesis examined the concept of citizenship and the genuine link theory. I am currently a doctoral candidate in private international law at Istanbul University, with research interests in private international law and emerging areas of civil liability. My published work appears in peer-reviewed journals and on practitioner platforms, covering topics I actively work on in practice.

I work in Turkish, English, Russian and Azerbaijani.