Vilas you point is well taken, however the Airbus OEB - appendix 12 states:
"The selection of the flap lever to the position 3 (and consequently the retraction of the slats to CONF 3 position) leads to the selection of autopilot and flight controls gains which are not fully optimized with the real aircraft aerodynamic configuration. The consequence is an increased lateral sensitivity in manual control which can be avoided if CONF FULL is maintained for landing."
Therefore with the flap handle in Config 3, with slats at Config 3 and Flaps at Config full, gains are scheduled as if both flaps and slats are in Config 3, thus my contention that flap handle position is controlling.
If gains are controlled by actual position of slats and flaps (as you rightly pointed out from the report) , what gains are scheduled with slats in Config 3 and Flaps in Config Full? Slats Config 3 gains or flaps Config Full gains?
Suffice to say, the point is when in direct law, we fly Config 3 approaches to optimize lateral control.