The High Court of London ruled this Thursday that King Emeritus Juan Carlos I does not have legal immunity in England after his abdication and therefore the lawsuit for harassment filed against him by his ex-lover Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein can proceed, reports Efe. From now on, the king emeritus, as his former girlfriend claimed, may be tried in the United Kingdom for crimes committed after his abdication from him in June 2014.
London magistrate Matthew Nicklin estimates, after the judicial investigation, that Juan Carlos I has lost the constitutional benefits of inviolability that he enjoyed during his time as monarch and head of state.
In her lawsuit, Corina, who would have established an intimate relationship with the then King of Spain in 2004, accuses him of harassment, illegal monitoring and defamation, since the breakup of that close friendship in 2012. In the oral hearing of the case, held in December, her lawyers described a bizarre plot of phone calls, intermediaries and even an intrusion into one of her homes to intimidate her, reports Colpisa.
Visit of Philip VI
The emeritus king’s lawyers argued in favor of his innocence and also of his alleged immunity that would prevent his acts as head of state from being judged in England . Now the sentence arrives, precisely six days before Kings Felipe VI and Letizia attend the religious ceremony in memory of the late Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth II , at Westminster Abbey .
The English High Court is equivalent to the Spanish Supreme Court . In a case with substantive matters of law, such as this one, it could open the door for the losing party to file an appeal before the English Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country.