World · Latin America · 1 hr ago
UK appeals court strikes down Trinidad and Tobago’s gay sex ban
Trinidad and Tobago’s gay sex ban has been struck down by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the final court of appeal for the country.
The ruling came on Tuesday and cannot be appealed.
The law, dating from British colonial rule, allowed prison terms of up to five years for gay sex, though it had not been enforced in recent history.
Jason Jones brought the case in 2017, arguing that the law was unconstitutional.
The decision ends a nearly 10-year legal fight and, Jones said, is a step toward equality.
The court said private, consensual sexual activity cannot be criminalized, because it is part of individual identity and private life.
The UK’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overturned laws criminalising consensual same-sex intimacy in Trinidad and Tobago.
The court unanimously ruled in favour of Jason Jones, who brought the legal challenge.
The decision ends a legal battle that began in 2017, according to AP, while the BBC describes it as an 11-year battle.
The court said the laws could not be justified in a society that respects individual rights and freedoms.
Jones said the ruling was a victory and a step towards equality.
- Who
- The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled in a case brought by Jason Jones.
- What
- The court overturned laws criminalising consensual same-sex intimacy in Trinidad and Tobago.
- When
- Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
- Where
- The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, England, ruled on laws in Trinidad and Tobago.
- Why
- Jones challenged the laws as violating individual rights, including privacy; the court ruled in his favour.
Jones and his representatives
Trinidad and Tobago government
Legal basis
Jones and his representatives
Jones argued that the laws violated the right to privacy and that later changes to the laws meant they were not protected from challenge.
Trinidad and Tobago government
The government argued that savings law clauses protected the laws from legal challenges.
Outcome
Jones and his representatives
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council unanimously ruled in Jones’s favour.
Trinidad and Tobago government
The government’s position was rejected by the court.
Jason Jones filed his case challenging the laws, according to AP.
Trinidad’s High Court found the laws unconstitutional.
A local appeals court partially reversed the High Court ruling.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council unanimously ruled in Jones’s favour.
- Court
- Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
- Appellant
- Jason Jones
- Ruling
- Laws criminalising same-sex intimacy overturned
- Prison term
- Up to five years under the laws, according to AP
- Case filed
- February 2017, according to AP
3 sources
What people are saying
These laws never reflected who we are as a people and a nation - diverse, multiracial, and secular.
There is a real sense of vindication with this judgment.
To discriminate against somebody simply because of who they choose to love is simply ridiculous,
cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of an individual