Cap. 363 Art. 19Pecuniary interest.

(1) It shall be the duty of every councillor who has any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any contract or proposed contract or other matter and is present at any meeting of the

Council at which that contract, proposed contract or other matter is, or is to be, considered to disclose openly to the meeting and as soon as practicable after the commencement thereof the nature of his interest and -

(a) not to preside over or take any part in the consideration or discussion of, or to vote on any question with respect to, that contract, proposed contract or other matter; and

(b) unless the contract, proposed contract or other matter is under consideration by the Council merely as part of a report of a committee or sub-committee thereof and does not itself become the subject of separate debate, to withdraw from the meeting while that matter is being considered.

(2) It shall be the duty of every Council to record in the minutes of a meeting particulars of any disclosure made to that meeting under sub-article (1) and of any subsequent withdrawal from the meeting.

(3) Any person who knowingly acts in contravention of sub-article (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine (multa) not exceeding two thousand five hundred euro (€2,500) or fifty per of the contract, proposed contract or other matter, centum whichever is the greater or to both such fine and imprisonment, and any person found guilty of such an offence shall cease to be qualified to hold the office of councillor for a period of five years from such conviction.

(4) For the purposes of sub-article (1) the word "indirect" includes any pecuniary interest which a councillor may have through his wife or husband, spouse in marriage, partners in a civil union, children, parents, persons having or who had children in common, siblings or through any company (not being a public company) of which he or any one or more of them is a shareholder or through any company of which he or any one or more of them is a director.