26.—(1) This regulation refers to the following stages—
(a)Stage 1 – where a person has been selected under section 79 for appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal.
(b)Stage 2 – where a person has been selected following a rejection or reconsideration at stage 1.
(c)Stage 3 – where a person has been selected following a rejection or reconsideration at stage 2.
(2) At stage 1 the Lord Chancellor must do one of the following—
(a)accept the selection;
(b)reject the selection; or
(c)require the selection panel to reconsider the selection.
(3) At stage 2 the Lord Chancellor must do one of the following—
(a)accept the selection;
(b)reject the selection, but only if it was made following a reconsideration at stage 1; or
(c)require the selection panel to reconsider the selection, but only if it was made following a rejection at stage 1.
(4) At stage 3 the Lord Chancellor must accept the selection, unless paragraph (5) applies and the Lord Chancellor accepts a selection under it.
(5) If a person whose selection the Lord Chancellor required to be reconsidered at stage 1 or 2 was not selected again at the next stage, the Lord Chancellor may, at stage 3, accept the selection made at that earlier stage.