Article 50 The President of the Republic determines and conducts the policy of the Nation. Article 51 The President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers deliberates obligatorily: — on the decisions determining the general policy of the State; — on the bills of law, of the ordinances and of the regulatory decrees; — on the nominations to the superior offices [emplois] of the State, the listing of which is established by the law. Article 52 The bills of law, of ordinance and of regulatory decree can be submitted to the Constitutional Council for advice, before being examined in the Council of Ministers. Article 53 The President of the Republic can, by decree, delegate certain of his powers to the members of the Government. The Prime Minister substitutes the President of the Republic when he is absent from the national territory. In this case, the President of the Republic can, by decree, delegate to him the presidency of the Council of Ministers, on a precise agenda. The President of the Republic can delegate, by decree, certain of his powers to the Prime Minister or to a member of the Government who assures the interim of this. This delegation of powers must be limited in its time and concern [porter] a precise matter or object. Article 54 The functions of the President of the Republic are incompatible with the exercise of any parliamentary mandate, any public employment, of any professional activity and of any directive function of a Political Party. Article 55 When he enters into his functions and at the end of them, the President of the Republic is held to produce an authentic declaration of his patrimony before the Court of Accounts. During the exercise of his functions, the President of the Republic can neither, by himself, nor through an intermediate person, acquire or rent anything which belongs to the domain of the State and of the Public Collectivities, without the previous authorization of the Court of Accounts within the conditions established by the law. The President of the Republic cannot solicit [offers] for the transactions [marchés] of the State and of the Public Collectivities. Article 56