Where there is one of the following circumstances in the case before him/her, a judge shall disqualify himself/herself from the case concerned on his/her own motion and may not exercise his/her functions:
(1) where the judge is the victim of the offenses charged in the case concerned;
(2) where the judge is or was the spouse, blood relative within the eighth degree of kinship, relative by marriage within the fifth degree of relationship, family head, or family member of the accused or of the victim;
(3) where the judge has been engaged to the accused or the victim;
(4) where the judge is or was the statutory agent of the accused or the victim;
(5) where the judge had acted as the agent, defense attorney, or assistant of the accused or as the agent or assistant of the private prosecutor or of a party in the supplementary civil action;
(6) where the judge had acted as a complainant, informer, witness or expert witness;
(7) where the judge had exercised the functions of the public prosecutor or judicial police officer;
(8) where the judge had participated in the decision at a previous trial.

A party may make a motion to disqualify a judge in one of the following circumstances:
(1) where circumstances specified in the preceding article exist and the judge has not disqualified himself/herself from the case concerned on his/her own motion;
(2) where circumstances other than those specified in the preceding article exist which would justify a view that the judge may be prejudiced in the exercise of his functions.

A party may, at any stage of the proceedings, motion to disqualify a judge in the circumstances specified in Subparagraph 1 of the preceding article.
A party who has already made a pleading or a statement on the substance of the case may not subsequently make a motion to disqualify a judge in accordance with Subparagraph 2 of the preceding article, unless the circumstances specified in the said Subparagraph occur or are discovered subsequent to the pleading or statement on the substance of the case.

A motion to disqualify a judge shall set forth the reasons of disqualification in writing, and be filed with the court to which the judge belongs, except when such a motion is made on the trial dates or during examination, where it may be made verbally.
Reasons for the motion to disqualify a judge and facts required of by the proviso of the second paragraph of the preceding article shall be set forth and explained.
A judge against whom a motion of disqualification is made may file a written opinion.

A motion to disqualify a judge shall be determined by a ruling rendered by a panel of judges of the court to which the judge so motioned belongs; when a quorum of the panel is not present, such a ruling shall be made by the president of the court; where it is impossible for the president to render such a ruling, it shall be made by the court which is immediately superior to the court to which the judge so motioned belongs.
A judge against whom a motion of disqualification is made shall not participate in the ruling specified in the preceding paragraph.
If a judge against whom a motion of disqualification is made considers that such a motion is well-grounded, he/she shall thereupon disqualify himself/herself without a ruling being made.

Where a motion is made for the disqualification of a judge, the proceedings shall be suspended except for making an emergency decision or in the case where the motion is based upon Subparagraph 2 of Article 18.

An interlocutory appeal may be made against a ruling that dismissed a motion to disqualify a judge.

A court that has jurisdiction to hear a motion to disqualify a judge or the president of the said court shall sua sponte make a ruling requiring the motioned disqualification if the said court or its president considers that reasons exist which require the judge to disqualify himself/herself on his/her own motion.
A ruling made in accordance with the preceding paragraph does not need to be served.

Provisions in this chapter relating to the disqualification of a judge shall apply mutatis mutandis to a court clerk or interpreter, provided that the previous service as a clerk or interpreter in a lower court is not a reason for disqualification.
The disqualification of a court clerk or interpreter shall be determined by a ruling rendered by the president of the court to which the clerk or interpreter is attached.

The provisions of Articles 17 through 20 and Article 24 concerning the disqualification of a judge shall apply mutatis mutandis to a public prosecutor, a public prosecutor investigator, or a clerk who deals with public prosecuting affairs, provided that previous service as a public prosecutor, a public prosecutor investigator, a clerk, or an interpreter in a lower court is not a reason for disqualification.
A motion to disqualify a public prosecutor, a public prosecutor investigator, or a clerk specified in the preceding paragraph shall be made to the chief prosecutor concerned or the Prosecutor General for appraisal and decision.
A motion to disqualify a chief prosecutor shall be made to the chief prosecutor of the immediately superior Public Prosecutors Office or to the Prosecutor General for appraisal and decision; the same rule shall apply if there is only one prosecutor.