The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has applied a partial pardon to Laura Borràs, former president of the Parliament of Catalonia, reducing her prison sentence from four years and six months to two years. The reduced sentence may be suspended if Borràs commits no intentional crime within the next five years.
The decision, confirmed on 4 September 2026 and based on a ruling by the TSJC's Civil and Criminal Chamber, implements a pardon approved by Spain's Council of Ministers on 28 July 2026. The government's measure commuted the custodial portion of Borràs's sentence but maintained the original fine and a political disqualification lasting four years and one day.
Borràs was convicted of prevarication and document forgery for splitting contracts worth €335,000 while leading the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes (ILC), a public cultural body. The TSJC had previously described the initial sentence as “disproportionate and excessive” and formally requested the pardon in March 2025, a year before the government approved it.
No Amnesty for Jové and Salvadó
In the same ruling, the TSJC rejected immediate amnesty for former Catalan government officials Josep Maria Jové and Lluís Salvadó, who face charges of embezzlement, prevarication and disobedience related to the 2017 independence referendum.
The court has retained preliminary questions it referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) over concerns that the amnesty law may conflict with EU rules on the protection of public funds. Although the CJEU issued rulings in July 2026 endorsing aspects of the amnesty, the TSJC determined these did not fully address its legal reservations.
The nature of the procedures differs radically, and the CJEU rulings do not reach to respond to all our reservations.
As a result, the court has suspended the amnesty process for Jové and Salvadó pending further clarification from European authorities.
Reported by elconfidencial.com, democrata.es, ARA, elmon.cat, infobae.com, lavanguardia.com, europapress.es, Europa Press Barcelona, elnacional.cat, abc.es, EFE, CGPJ, El Confidencial.
