Professional disqualifications for Congress of Deputies and Senate

1. According to Section 157 of this Act the mandate of member of Congress or Senator is incompatible with performance of private activities.

2. The following activities shall be in all cases incompatible with the parliamentary mandate:

a) Management, defence and direction of or advice to any public bodies or firms at the State, Self-governing Communities and local authorities level, in relation to matters to be decided by said bodies or firms, that directly affect the operation of a public service or have the aim of obtaining a public subsidy or guarantee.
Provided that this does not apply to private activities carried out by those directly concerned in the exercise of their own acknowledged right, as well as to subsidies or guarantees whose grant results from automatic application of a general Act or statutory instrument;

b) Contracting or guaranteeing of works, services, supplies and generally any contracts to be paid for by funds of bodies or firms of the public sector at State, Self-governing Communities or local authorities level, or the holding of positions or offices involving management, representation, advice or provision of services in firms or companies that engage in such activities;

c) The holding of offices or positions that entail functions of management, representation, advice or provision of services in firms or companies with a licensing agreement or concession of a public monopoly;

d) Provision of advice services or other services individually or in partnership to bodies or firms of the public sector at State, Self-governing Communities or local authorities level; 

e) Possession of any stake above 10 per 100 acquired wholly or partly after the date of election as member of Congress of Deputies or the Senate, unless acquired by inheritance, in firms or companies contracting for works, services, supplies or any other services generally paid out of funds of public sector entities or firms at State, Self- governing Communities or local authorities level;

f) The functions of Chairman, member of the Board of Directors, administrator, Director-General, manager or similar positions, as well as the provision of services in credit or insurance institutions or in any other companies or entities with a basically profit-making purpose and having normally recourse to savings and to credit, and 

g) Any other activities that are by nature incompatible with parliamentary commitment and obligations laid down in the relevant regulations.

3. The following shall be the only exceptions to the prohibition of public and private activities referred to in Section 157 of this Act and in this present Section:

a) Mere administration of personal and familiar estate. Provided that this activity shall in no case be deemed a private one, where the parliamentarian, his spouse or any person related to him by a similar link deriving from life in common and descendants under age possess jointly or separately a stake above 10 per 100 in trade or professional concerns of any description with agreements, concessions or contracts with public sector bodies or firms at State, Self-governing Communities or local authorities level; 

b) Literary, scientific, artistic or technical production and creation, as well as publications arising therefrom where this does not fall within any of the situations contemplated in Section 157.2 of this Act or subsections 1 and 2 of this present Section and 

c) Private activities other than those set out in subsection 2 above that may be authorized by the relevant Committee of either House on the parliamentarian’s request. Such request and the ensuing authorization shall be entered in the register of private activities referred to in subsection 1 of Section 160 of this Act.

 SECT.159 AS AMENDED BY SECT.56 OF INSTITUTIONAL ACT 8/1991, OF MARCH 13