The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council determined that Trinidad and Tobago's anti-homosexuality laws could not be justified in a society that respects individual rights. Although the government argued the statutes were shielded by colonial savings law clauses, the court agreed with the challenger that 1986 amendments introducing harsher penalties invalidated those protections. The case was brought by 62-year-old dual-citizen Jason Jones, who previously secured a High Court victory in 2018 before it was overturned on appeal. Campaigners believe this breakthrough judgment could influence reforms across approximately 34 Commonwealth countries that still enforce similar bans.
Key points
The decision marks the very first time the London-based Privy Council has ruled to decrim…: The decision marks the very first time the London-based Privy Council has ruled to decriminalise same-sex intimacy.
Roughly 34 Commonwealth countries continue to enforce colonial prohibitions carrying pena…: Roughly 34 Commonwealth countries continue to enforce colonial prohibitions carrying penalties that range from imprisonment to death.
Campaigners anticipate the landmark ruling will accelerate legal challenges and equality…: Campaigners anticipate the landmark ruling will accelerate legal challenges and equality campaigns across the wider Commonwealth.
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A UK court has overturned laws criminalising same-sex intimacy in Trinidad and Tobago.
London's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC), the Caribbean island's final court of appeal, ruled the laws were not in keeping with the "fundamental individual right to respect for private and family life."
The judgement is the result of an 11-year legal battle brought by dual-citizen Jason Jones, 62, who said he hoped it would "accelerate the fight for full equality."
Jones had successfully challenged the laws in 2018 in Trinidad's High Court, however the ruling was overturned on appeal by the Trinidadian government.
It is the first time the JCPC has ever decided on a case to decriminalise same-sex intimacy, and campaigners hope it will spark similar successful legal challenges elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
Prior to this historic decision, Trinidad and Tobago was one of some 34 Commonwealth countries continuing to criminalise homosexuality based on colonial-era British laws.
Under these laws, consensual same-sex intimacy is punishable by imprisonment, and in some cases carries the death penalty.
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