Will Laura Borràs have to go to prison?

BarcelonaThe Supreme Court confirmed the sentence of 4 and a half years in prison, 13 years of disqualification and 36,000 euros of fine for Laura Borràs for the splitting of contracts at the head of the Institution of Catalan Letters (ILC). The high court unanimously overturns the decision the appeal filed by the defense of the former president of the Parliament against the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) and rejects the application of amnesty to him: he argues that the law is not applicable to corruption crimes that are not related to the Trial. The ruling, which is now final, is for the crimes of prevarication and falsification of documents.

Now, does this mean that Laura Borràs will go to prison immediately? The legal sources consulted explain that no, since she is awaiting a pardon – which was recommended by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia itself in the sentence– and what the Constitutional Court may say in an appeal for protection, since it would have the power to suspend entry into a penitentiary center. The pardon indicated by the TSJC would be for half of the sentence and would leave it at two years in prison, which, without a criminal record, should not be imposed. The TSJC was in favor of the measure of grace, considering that the law punishes excessively for the crimes of prevarication and falsification of documents. However, the recommendation is not binding, the decision is up to the Spanish government, which depends on Junts.

The timetable would be as follows: first, the Supreme Court must send the sentence to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, which will then call a hearing with all parties to begin the process of executing the resolution. It is at this stage that the pardon can be put on the table. Laura Borràs said that she would not claim it because she considers the case against her to be "lawfare", while the Prosecutor's Office has already She was in favour. Any individual or the TSJC itself could also request it, say sources from the court, if it sees fit. This is provided for in article 4.3 of the Penal Code: it states that the court "will go to the government explaining what it deems appropriate regarding the granting of a pardon, without prejudice to executing the sentence, when the rigorous application of the provisions of the law results in a punishable action or omission that, in the opinion of the judge or the court, should not be so." If the pardon process is not initiated, Borràs could also go to the Constitutional Court at this procedural point to overturn the sentence. If the TC and the pardon route fail, Borràs would have to go to prison as the sentence is for more than 2 years.

The Supreme Court's argument

The Supreme Court judges have entirely rejected the appeal of the former leader of Junts, which questioned the proportionality of the sentence and pointed out both the partial pardon proposed by the TSJC in its ruling and the dissenting opinion of one of the judges. "The proven facts are part of a conduct embedded in the corruption of a public official who places himself outside the law, disobeys it and violates the principles of public administration," the Supreme Court responded.

Borràs also asked for amnesty to be applied to her because of her "clearly pro-independence" profile and because she led the ILC "within the framework of a government with a clearly pro-independence vocation." Arguments that the Supreme Court also rejects: "Neither the profile nor the development of a government action, in the administrative area that the appellant led, allow us to consider that the conduct for which she has been convicted falls within the context of the so-called Catalan pro-independence process." The court also rejects the violation of the right to the presumption of innocence.

The former president of the Parliament She was convicted of favoring businessman Isaías Herrero when she was the head of the Catalan Institution of Letters, between 2013 and 2018, with contracts that amounted to more than 300,000 euros. The TSJC considered it proven that she, as the institution's top contracting officer, decided "personally", "directly" and "without submitting" to public procurement regulations, that Herrero would be in charge of the web portal and other assignments that arose over time.

Support from Turull and Puigdemont

The fact that the sentence is final also could complicate the future of Borràs to Junts, where she was elected to chair the party's foundation. Beyond the existing internal balances, the Government warned in a report at the end of 2024 that those disqualified for crimes against property, the socio-economic order or falsehood cannot be patrons of a foundation, a condition sine qua non for presiding over the entity linked to Carles Puigdemont's party. The protectorate of foundations, the public administrative body dependent on the Generalitat that is in charge of supervising them, could put obstacles to the appointment. However, those close to the foundation also assure that another fit could be found: as academic director or any other way that was not that of patron because could be incorporated into this entity intended to think about the ideological future of the party.

Officially, the secretary general of Junts, Jordi Turull, has reacted from the Parliament to the judicial resolution. "The Spanish justice system is consolidating itself as the Guantanamo of European justice, and this episode confirms it," he insisted. Borràs has also received the unwavering support of the former president and leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, who sees in the judicial decision a "cruelty" unbecoming of an independent judicial body with political motivations behind it. "The #OurToga "He remains impassive, marching to the sound of the score of repression ordered by the highest judiciary," he wrote in X.

ERC sees it as disproportionate

Until now Esquerra had avoided considering lawfare The case of Borràs –in fact, they considered him to be blatantly corrupt– and had disassociated him from all the cases opened against the leaders of the Process for their political action. Now, what does the party and its new leadership say now that the sentence is now final? Republican sources consider that the sentence is "disproportionate" and consider that it is not unrelated to the "political role" of the former president of Junts. However, they also emphasize that the proven facts are reprehensible and avoid specifying whether the Spanish government should pardon him or not. As soon as the sentence was made public, both the PP and Vox have come out to attack Borràs from the Parliament. "Pure and hard corruption," said Vox. The PSC has not spoken out.