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The immunity of Juan Carlos I in British justice weakens the demand of Corinna Larsen

2022-12-07T23:52:02.833Z


The most serious events, such as the alleged threats by the former director general of the CNI Félix Sanz Roldán to the ex-partner of Juan Carlos I are outside the grievances. The inclusion of him, warned the defense of the emeritus, would be a judicial "Trojan horse"


Law is not an exact science, like Mathematics.

His interpretation can hold surprises.

And in the case of Anglo-Saxon justice and its

common law

(common law), where the precedent competes and even prevails with the written law, and where judges can use their common sense in exceptional situations, making predictions has something to throw the dice.

But it is clear that this Monday's ruling by the Court of Appeal for England and Wales has weakened the battle waged by Corinna Larsen against Juan Carlos I. By establishing that the acts included in the lawsuit for harassment that took place before the abdication in June of 2014 are covered by the British State Immunity Act of 1978, the claimant's account of grievances has lost much force.

"Pre-abdication conduct is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of this country," concludes the reporting magistrate, Eleanor King, in her ruling, who has obtained the unanimous support of the other two members of the court, Ingrid Simler and Andrew Popplewell.

In other words, in theory, two fundamental facts would be left out of the subject matter.

In the first place, the visit to London of the then general director of the CNI, Félix Sanz Roldán, on May 5, 2012, to meet with Larsen at the Connaught Hotel, one of the most select and luxurious establishments in the British capital.

"During the meeting, [Sanz Roldán] threatened the plaintiff and her family, assuring that 'he could not guarantee her physical safety or that of her children' unless she agreed to what he described as 'recommendations', but that they were , in fact, orders”,

And secondly, the device deployed by Sanz Roldán in June 2012 in the apartment that the former sentimental partner of the emeritus king had in Monaco.

Always according to Larsen's version, what was presented as a series of measures for her safety was actually a trap to spy on her.

“General Sanz Roldán used armed operatives from the Monaco security company, Algiz, as a cover for an operation that allowed a CNI team sent from Spain to gain access to his property [her apartment] without her consent (... ) Commercial and personal documents belonging to the plaintiff were examined and/or copied, and some were extracted during the operation without her authorization," the legal team stated in its lawsuit.

More information

A British court recognizes the immunity of Juan Carlos I in the trial against Corinna Larsen

If Judge Mathew Nicklin, who is responsible for resolving this civil battle in the British courts, abides by the order expressed by the Court of Appeal, which has been very harsh with its procedural performance to date, he will have to impose a veil of ignorance on two of the most serious and coercive events, apparently, in the chain of harassment denounced by Larsen.

Failure to do so, warned the lawyer representing the king emeritus, Timothy Otty, during the last oral hearing before the Court of Appeal, would introduce a judicial "Trojan horse" into the case, by allowing facts to be maintained in the case. that does not correspond to elucidate in the British courts.

“The Court of Appeal has avoided doing the 'fine surgery' that was necessary to do, as established in its own writ admitting the appeal.

And that means that Judge Nicklin will have to make bobbin lace at every step he takes, if he does not want to receive another slap on the wrist from the court," Josep Gálvez, former magistrate-judge, lawyer and

barrister

(lawyer who argues in room in British law) of the London office of Del Canto Chambers.

"With the cut imposed by the Court of Appeal, there is no more margin, so they will pull facts or damages that extend or occur after 2014," says Gálvez.

In those events after 2014, according to the lawsuit's own account, the apparent seriousness is clearly less.

They are reduced to a continuous campaign, by the king emeritus, against his former sentimental partner, whom he accuses among friends and acquaintances of both of his disloyalty and, above all, of having appropriated the almost 65 million euros that he transferred to the German-Danish businesswoman "irrevocably" in 2012, through the Lucum fund based in Panama.

There is only one episode with the apparent strength to constitute harassment: the meeting held in London by Larsen and the emeritus in September 2014. Always according to what was narrated in the lawsuit, it was she who then refused to resume the romantic relationship.

“Her attitude of hers and her behavior towards the claimant began to become more and more threatening.

A question of credibility

The main problem with Larsen's legal strategy resides in the slap on the wrist that the Court of Appeals has given Judge Nicklin, and consequently, to the credibility of the accusation.

During the last oral hearing, before the preliminary question of State immunity referred the matter to a higher instance, the judge suggested

in voce

to the magistrates of Larsen to modify their indictment, to make it clear that Sanz Roldán had not acted as general director of the CNI but "in a personal capacity".

In this way, the validity of immunity was more clearly avoided.

Lawyers were quick to adopt the judge's advice, but the Court of Appeals has been extremely harsh with a modification that profoundly altered an indictment made under oath.

The change in criteria significantly damages the credibility of the plaintiff.

“The fact of not admitting the amendments made [to the lawsuit], supposes a ballast in the veracity of the story, which has been expressly compromised.

If the evidence they present in the future is not indubitable, their credibility will be called into question”, points out Luisa Cid, also a lawyer for Del Canto Chambers,

There is still a long trial ahead.

It is probable that previous issues that the legal team of Juan Carlos I keeps in the chamber will further delay the moment of judging the specific facts.

And there is always the possibility that the parties reach an out-of-court agreement.

The arena of battle is civil jurisdiction, where money can always be the ultimate moral response to a supposed wrong.

The judgment of the Court of Appeal, however, has made it clear that credibility is just as urgent —or more— in a courtroom than before public opinion.

More information

A British NGO is considering accepting a million-dollar donation from a fund linked to Juan Carlos I

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-12-07

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