Article 19 1. The head judge shall make the final
judgement on a decision following the deliberations.
2. In principle, the deliberations shall be decided by a
majority vote of the judges (excluding the gyoji).
3. The head judge shall try to convince the minority vote of
the validity of the decision.
Article 20 When the head judge and judges believe that a
match has been won, but the gyoji allows the match to
continue without calling out a decision, the following
measures shall be taken:
(1) In the event of a fumikoshi (stepping over the dohyo)
where there is a positive mark evidencing that a match has
been won, a judge must raise their right hand to express his
objection. In this case, the head judge shall instruct the
gyoji to stop the match and a decision shall be made through
deliberations.
(2) If there is no positive mark on the janome (sand around
the dohyo) etc. indicating that a match has been won, an
objection shall be lodged at the end of the match and a
decision shall be reached through deliberations.
Article 21 If a gyoji mistakenly calls out "Shobu
atta (The match is won.)" during the match, the head
judge and judges shall lodge an objection and a tori-naoshi
(rematch) shall be called following deliberations.
Article 22 1. If a match continues for three minutes and
there is no winner, it is stopped and a rematch shall be
carried out.
2. At the signal of the judge keeping the time, the head
judge shall instruct the gyoji to stop the match.
Chapter 3 Judges' Duties
Article 23 Bearing in mind the great influence which their
advice has on athlete and the general audience, judges shall
strive to be fair and neutral in their decisions and they
shall never show any sign of oscillation or wavering.
Article 24 1. Judges shall also instruct athletes, in
addition to judging and passing decisions on matches.
2. If any inappropriate speech or behavior are exhibited on
the dohyo or in the dohyo-damari (waiting area), the judge
shall immediately warn the athlete.
Article 25 The judges are responsible for maintaining the
condition of the dohyo in order to ensure that matches are
carried out safely and they shall take immediate corrective
measures when needed.
