The highest appellate court hearing cases from Trinidad and Tobago has struck down a centuries-old law criminalizing same-sex sexual activities, reports Associated Press.
The United Kingdom's Privy Council Judicial Committee made a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, which is final and not subject to appeal. This ends nearly a decade of legal battles in the island nation over LGBTQ community rights.
The case was initiated in February 2017 by Jason Jones, who challenged the constitutionality of laws passed during British colonial rule. These laws prescribed up to five years imprisonment for certain sexual acts between men. Although these provisions were rarely enforced in recent years, opponents argued that the mere existence of such laws perpetuated discrimination.
In 2018, the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago had declared the provisions unconstitutional. However, in March 2025, the Court of Appeal partly overturned that decision, after which Jones was permitted to appeal to the Privy Council in London. The government sought to uphold the Court of Appeal's ruling.
Trinidad and Tobago is an independent republic and member of the Commonwealth that continues to use the Privy Council in London as its highest appellate court. At the same time, the country favors transferring this function to the Caribbean Court of Justice based in the region.
Similar laws remain in effect in several Caribbean Basin countries, including Jamaica, Grenada, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In recent years, courts in Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda have also struck down provisions criminalizing same-sex relations.
