Yarsuvat was born in İstanbul in 1937. He completed his secondary education at Galatasaray High School, and graduated from İstanbul University Faculty of Law in 1961. In 1965, he earned his master’s degree in comparative law at Columbia University where he went on a Fulbright scholarship. Yarsuvat became professor in 1978, and worked at the Council of Europe Crime Problems Committee in 1988-1992 as a member of the Scientific Criminological Council. He served as the dean of the Faculty of Law (2001-2004) and rector (2004-8) at Galatasaray University. Yarsuvat, who is registered with the İstanbul Bar since 1965, was elected as the president of Galatasaray Sports Club in 2014. Currently, he is a faculty member at Yeditepe University.