Trinidad and Tobago overturns ban on same-sex relations — Jerusalem Post

The Judicial Committee of the United Kingdom’s Privy Council has struck down provisions of Trinidad and Tobago’s legislation that criminalized consensual same-sex relations between adults. The ruling by the London court concluded a years-long legal battle and repealed colonial-era provisions, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The court’s decision is final

The court found that the relevant provisions were incompatible with the fundamental human right to respect for private and family life. The repealed provisions provided for criminal liability for acts defined by law as “buggery” and “serious indecency,” with the maximum punishment reaching up to five years in prison.

Judge Philip Sales noted that the modern understanding of the right to respect for private and family life includes sexual orientation and private consensual sexual relations between adults. According to him, laws aimed at criminalizing such acts cannot be justified.

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The lawsuit was filed in 2017

The lawsuit was filed in February 2017 by 62-year-old Jason Jones, who holds citizenship of Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom. He argued that the law violated his constitutional rights. In April 2018, the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago found the disputed provisions unconstitutional.

However, in March 2025, the country’s Court of Appeal partially overturned that decision following an appeal by the government. Jones subsequently appealed to the Privy Council in London. Its decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Trinidad and Tobago is an independent republic and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, but the Privy Council still remains the country’s final court of appeal. This is the body’s first ruling in a case concerning the decriminalization of consensual same-sex relations.