# 刑事訴訟法 / Code of Criminal Procedure — 第二十一条 (Article 21) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-21. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp. - Law: 刑事訴訟法 (Code of Criminal Procedure), 昭和二十三年法律第百三十一号 - English title "Code of Criminal Procedure": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第二十一条 (Article 21) — address `art-21` - Text in force since: 2026-10-20 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-21 - e-Gov law ID: 323AC0000000131 — never renamed. A permanent link, `/l/{lawId}/{address}` on this site, redirects to the page. - Every provision below carries its address and its URL on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第二十一条 art-21 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-21 **第一項** 裁判官が職務の執行から除斥されるべきとき、又は不公平な裁判をする虞があるときは、検察官又は被告人は、これを忌避することができる。 art-21/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-21/par-1 When a judge is to be disqualified from the execution of its duties, or there is a concern that said judge may make a prejudicial decision, a public prosecutor or the defendant may recuse said judge. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "When a judge is to be disqualified from the execution of its duties, or there is a concern that said judge may make a prejudicial decision, a public prosecutor or the accused may recuse said judge." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb **第二項** 弁護人は、被告人のため忌避の申立をすることができる。但し、被告人の明示した意思に反することはできない。 art-21/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/ja/code-of-criminal-procedure/art-21/par-2 The defense counsel may recuse a judge on behalf of the defendant; provided, however, that such recusal may not be contrary to the intent expressed by the defendant. Ministry of Justice translation with a slip corrected by this site — not the Ministry's text; the Ministry printed: "The defense counsel may recuse a judge on behalf of the accused; provided, however, that such recusal is not contrary to the intent expressed by the accused." — https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb --- ## Sources - claude-opus-5-5 — Corrections to the Ministry of Justice's English of the Code of Criminal Procedure, written 2026-11-06 - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 刑事訴訟法 — the text in force from 2026-10-20 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000131/20261020_508AC0000000067), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Article 21, paragraph (1) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Article 21, paragraph (2) — the Ministry of Justice's English as printed (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Code of Criminal Procedure — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3739/tb), retrieved 2026-11-06 - This site's parser, version 225 — 刑事訴訟法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-11-06