(1)This section applies where the request relates to a recommendation for an appointment to the office of Lord Chief Justice.
(2)The selection panel must consist of five members.
(3)The first member is the chairman of the Commission, unless there is no chairman of the Commission or the chairman of the Commission is incapacitated.
(4)If there is no chairman of the Commission or the chairman of the Commission is incapacitated, the first member is a lay member of the Commission selected by the lay members of the Commission other than the chairman.
(5)The second member is the most senior England and Wales Supreme Court judge who is neither disqualified nor incapacitated, or that judge's nominee.
(6)The third member is a lay member of the Commission designated by the first member.
(7)The fourth member is a member of the Commission designated by the first member.
(8)The fifth member is a person designated by the Lord Chief Justice, unless subsection (10) applies.
(9)Subsection (10) applies if—
(a)there is no Lord Chief Justice, or
(b)the Lord Chief Justice is incapacitated.
(10)In those cases the most senior England and Wales Supreme Court judge who is neither disqualified nor incapacitated must, after consulting the first member, designate a person as the fifth member.
(11)Only the following may be a nominee under subsection (5) or designated under subsection (8) or (10)—
(a)an England and Wales Supreme Court judge,
(b)a Head of Division, or
(c)an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales.
(12)A person may not be a nominee under subsection (5), or be designated under this section, if the person is disqualified.
(13)Before designating a person under subsection (7) as the fourth member, the first member must, if practicable, consult the Lord Chief Justice.
(14)The first member is the chairman of the panel.
(15)A person is disqualified for the purposes of this section if—
(a)the person is the Lord Chief Justice,
(b)the office of Lord Chief Justice is vacant and the person is the immediate previous holder of that office, or
(c)the person is willing to be considered for selection.]
Textual Amendments
F1Ss. 71-71B substituted for s. 71 (25.4.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(11)(a), Sch. 13 para. 82(3) (with Sch. 13 para. 82(5))