Okan Demirkan

Practice Areas

Dispute Resolution, Energy and Infrastructure, Ethics and Compliance

Career

In 2013, 2014 and 2017, Okan Demirkan received the Client Choice Award by the International Law Office Magazine for his work on energy and natural resources projects. Who’s Who Legal recognizes Okan as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in the field of Energy and a “World Leading Arbitration Lawyer”.

Professional Memberships

Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb); Istanbul Bar Association; International Bar Association (IBA); Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA); Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK); Turkish Ethics and Reputation Society (TEID); International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI); Turkish Corporate Governance Association (TKYD); Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP); Society of Construction Law Turkey (SCL Turkey); Yenibirlider (A New Leader) Association; Galatasaray Sports Club Association

Publications

‘Import of Gas: How Liberal is Turkey?’, ‘Turkish Commercial Law Review’, Vol.4 Issue 1 (2018); ‘Developing Court Practice in Turkey Regarding Applications to Set Aside Arbitral Awards’, ‘The American Review of International Arbitration’, No.4 Vol.26 (2015)

Personal

Okan was educated in four countries: the Netherlands, Israel, Turkey and the United Kingdom. He received his law degree in 2000 from the University of Sussex School of Legal Studies.

Languages Spoken

English, Turkish

Experience

Okan Demirkan has significant experience in arbitration and litigation, energy and infrastructure, ethics and compliance.

With significant experience of more than 20 years in international arbitration, he serves as counsel, arbitrator or expert witness in various commercial disputes involving Turkish law. Okan has been heavily involved in arbitration proceedings concerning major infrastructure projects and has successfully represented several international clients as well as local entities, both in institutional and in ad hoc arbitration proceedings concerning disputes arising from build-operate-transfer (BOT) model investments, sales agreements, share purchase agreements, shareholders agreements, EPC contracts and licensing contracts. He regularly acts as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator in ICC and ISTAC arbitrations.

In addition to international arbitration, Okan represents domestic and international clients in a wide range of litigation matters, including commercial disputes, employment-related disputes, intellectual property claims, administrative disputes, enforcement and set-aside lawsuits, as well as criminal proceedings in relation to white-collar crimes at all levels of the Turkish courts.

Okan is highly specialized in energy, public procurement, PPPs and infrastructure projects. Between 2004 and 2010, Okan was extensively involved in all legal issues surrounding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project (BTC), where he played a key role in regulatory, real estate and litigation issues. In addition to BTC, Okan has advised clients in connection with the Nabucco Gas Pipeline and the Samsun-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline. In 2011, Okan took an active role in the Shah Deniz Stage 2 Natural Gas Sales Project, where he led the KDK team advising on the project’s legal structure in Turkey, including the intergovernmental agreement, Turkey’s natural gas market legislation and on related commercial and public international law matters. In 2012, Okan led the KDK team in the Firm’s key role in the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP). In this multibillion-dollar project, the KDK team drafted the Host Government Agreement and negotiated it, along with the Intergovernmental Agreement.

Okan has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) since 2023. Who’s Who Legal recognizes Okan as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in the field of Energy since 2020, and as one of the world’s leading arbitration practitioners since 2019. In 2023, Who’s Who Legal also listed him in the field of Commercial Litigation.

Okan Demirkan is also a prominent figure in the area of ethics and compliance. He has conducted several investigations related to various regulatory and anti-bribery / anti-corruption allegations.

Awards