CONTINUE
CONTINUE
The defense of Don Juan Carlos before he requested it in the United Kingdom that he has filed against Corinna Larsen has until May 30 to request the Court of Appeals to allow him to appeal the decision of Judge Matthew Nicklin, of the High Court of London , which decided to go ahead with the procedure, considering that the King's father does not enjoy immunity in his jurisdiction.
The jump to the Court of Appeals will take place after the famous hearing yesterday, in which the judge denied authorization (a previous step in the British Justice) to appeal the ruling right there, even though the lawyer of Don Juan Carlos, Daniel Belén insisted that the arguments to deny immunity do not conform to law.
“I have made a decision and until the Court of Appeals says that I am wrong, this will continue to be my position,” said the magistrate in the session, which lasted almost three hours in a cold room in which, in addition to the lawyers of both parties and journalists, Corinna Larsen herself was also smuggled. "In the meantime -continued the judge-, I need to continue with the litigation".
At various points in the session, Daniel Belén, a lawyer for Don Juan Carlos, defended his position on fencing more vehemently, accusing him of having some “ambiguities” in his writings that, in his opinion, should also be corrected.
Judge Nicklin ratified the argument that he put in writing last week to deny immunity: Don Juan Carlos does not enjoy that privilege before British jurisdiction because he is not a sovereign in office, he is not part of the Royal House in terms of Representation and the stories told by Larsen would have occurred, in any case, outside of his official duties. Therefore, he can continue processing the lawsuit, whatever its result will be, since he has not yet entered into assessing its credibility.
The defense of Don Juan Carlos also requested to paralyze the process while it decides if the Court of Appeals admits its claim to review the decision on immunity. The judge has not granted this extreme but the result is a de facto paralysis while the appeal is presented because he has set a calendar giving enough time for the higher instance to rule.
Thus, the defense has until May 30 to request permission from the Court of Appeals to file an appeal, and the forecast is that the decision will take around four weeks to arrive. If it is denied, a new technical hearing will be held on July 8 before Judge Nicklin, where the parties will specify the axes of their respective strategies and provide documentation. The magistrate has already warned that a second call could cause a "huge delay" in the process. That yes, in case it is admitted, the forecast is that the demand remains in suspense until the appeal is resolved, according to the legal sources consulted by ABC.
"Full Confidence"
Larsen's lawyers sent a statement during the session in congratulations for the judge's decision, and celebrated that the court had "rejected the last intention of Don Juan Carlos to thwart the progress" of Corinna Larsen's claim for harassment.
"My client appreciates the practical decisions of the Superior Court of Justice for the administration of the procedure and hopes that they will serve to limit further delays in it," they assured. We also express Larsen's “complete confidence” that the Nicklin criterion prevailed over immunity. "We have moved one step closer to a hearing of the facts in question," said the German-Danish lawyer, Robin Rathmell.
