The Department shall administer competitive examinations and such other tests as may be necessary to ascertain the relative qualifications for a:candidate for appointment at the entry level; and candidate for promotional appointment within the Department. Examinations shall:be public; fairly test the capacity and fitness of the candidate to discharge the duties of the position the candidate is seeking; and be prepared with guidance from a nationally-recognized police or testing group, as designated by the Commissioner. The Department shall prepare graded lists of qualified candidates determined from the examinations and other tests administered under this subsection. The Department shall prepare a promotion list that ranks qualified candidates in order from highest to lowest based on examination and test scores. The Commissioner shall make a promotional appointment from the candidates that are the highest scoring 25 percent of candidates on the promotion list prepared under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The top 25 percent of candidates is the quartile of candidates on the promotion list that score the highest. The 25 percent highest scoring candidates shall be calculated when the promotion list is created and shall remain fixed for the life of the promotion list. After the first promotion is made, as prescribed by subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the Commissioner shall fill the next vacancy in the Department, if any, from the highest scoring remaining and available candidate on the promotion list. All promotional appointments made after the creation of a promotion list must be made in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection until the eligible list is exhausted by such appointments. Each promotion list created under paragraph (1) of this subsection may not be used for longer than 1 year, unless the list is extended upon the request of the Commissioner. The Commissioner may not extend the use of a promotion list for more than 2 years, dating from the time that the list was first created. The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee may not remove a candidate from an promotion list. The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee may remove a candidate from an promotion list, if:the candidate is no longer available for appointment; or between the time the candidate applied for the promotion and the time in which the candidate is to be selected for the promotion, a misconduct complaint against the candidate for which the punishment could be termination has been received and sustained by the board or the Department’s disciplinary review committee. A promotion list is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act. The promotion list, examination papers, and other materials used in determining a candidate’s eligibility may be inspected by:the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee; and the individual applicant, as limited to those materials that pertain to their application. Notwithstanding any provisions of this subtitle, the Commissioner may make any appointment to the Department above the rank of lieutenant without examination. No position above the rank of lieutenant shall be filled by a police officer within the Department of a rank less than lieutenant. Where any such appointment is made, the police officer so appointed shall, upon the termination of service in such position, be returned to the rank from which the police officer was elevated, or to such higher rank as the police officer became eligible to serve in during the appointment. Any provisions relating to the Department contained in §§ <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="VII|§94">94</cite> to <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="VII|§103">103</cite> of <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="VII">Article VII of the City Charter</cite> notwithstanding, all appointments and promotional appointments shall be probationary in accordance with the following rules:During the 1^st year, all appointments to the Department at the entrance level of civilian employees shall be known and regarded as probationary. All appointments of a police officer to the Department shall, during the 1^st year of service following completion of entrance level training, be known and regarded as probationary. At any time during the 1-year probationary period for either a civilian employee or a police officer the appointee’s employment may, in the discretion of the Commissioner, be forthwith terminated without the necessity for a hearing, and when so terminated the appointee shall cease to be a member of the Department, if:the services of an appointee are not satisfactory to the Commissioner; or the appointee is not certified by the police physician as physically qualified to continue to discharge the appointed individual’s duties. All promotional appointees, both civilian employees and police officers, shall be probationary for 1 year after which, if the appointee’s services are satisfactory to the Commissioner, and the appointee is physically able to perform the duties of the appointee’s rank, grade, or position, as certified by the police physician, the promotional appointment shall be made permanent. If, in the judgment of the Commissioner the services of a promotional appointee have not been satisfactory or the appointee is not physically qualified for the promotional appointment, the appointee shall be reduced to the rank, grade, or position from which the appointee was promoted.