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Chapter III Withdrawal

Article 28 In any of the following situations, a member of the judicial, procuratorial or investigatory personnel shall voluntarily withdraw, and the parties to the case and their legal representatives shall have the right to demand his withdrawal:

(1) if he is a party or a near relative of a party to the case;

(2) if he or a near relative of his has an interest in the case;

(3) if he has served as a witness, expert witness, defender or agent ad litem in the current case ; or

(4) if he has any other relations with a party to the case that could affect the impartial handling of the case.

Article 29 Judges, procurators or investigators shall not accept invitations to dinner or presents from the parties to a case or the persons entrusted by the parties and shall not in violation of regulations meet with the parties to a case or the persons entrusted by the parties.

Any judge, procurator or investigator who violates the provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be investigated for legal responsibility. The parties to the case and their legal representatives shall have the right to request him to withdraw.

Article 30 The withdrawal of a judge, procurator and investigator shall be determined respectively by the president of the court, the chief procurator, and the head of a public security organ; the withdrawal of the president of the court shall be determined by the court's judicial committee; and the withdrawal of the chief procurator or the head of a public security organ shall be determined by the procuratorial committee of the People's Procuratorate at the corresponding level.

An investigator may not suspend investigation of a case before a decision is made on his withdrawal.

If a decision has been made to reject his application for withdrawal, the party or his legal representative may apply for reconsideration once.

Article 31 The provisions of Articles 28, 29 and 30 of this Law shall also apply to court clerks, interpreters and expert witnesses.

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