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Privy Council restores ruling against Trinidad and Tobago same-sex laws
The Privy Council has restored a ruling that protects consensual same-sex relations between adults in Trinidad and Tobago, overturning a 2025 appeal court decision. The unanimous judgment is a major victory for activist Jason Jones after a decade-long legal fight and could influence other Caribbean countries that use the Privy Council as their final court of appeal.
Jones first won a High Court ruling in 2018, which found colonial-era provisions criminalising consensual anal sex unconstitutional. On Tuesday, all five Privy Council judges said the relevant sections of the 1986 Sexual Offences Act must be read consistently with the constitution, so they do not criminalise private, consensual sex between adults of the same sex. Similar laws remain in force elsewhere in the region, though St Lucia’s courts struck down its ban last year; Jones said he does not yet feel comfortable returning to live in Trinidad.
In short
- The Privy Council reinstated protections for consensual same-sex relations.
- The unanimous ruling ends a decade-long legal fight by Jason Jones.
- The decision could affect other Caribbean countries with similar laws.
Explained simply
The Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean country whose legal system retains some laws dating from British colonial rule. The case concerns provisions in the country’s Sexual Offences Act that criminalised certain sexual acts between men.
Activist Jason Jones challenged those provisions, arguing they conflicted with Trinidad and Tobago’s constitution. The dispute has moved through the country’s courts and the Privy Council, and forms part of wider legal debates about how constitutional protections apply to private relationships.
The issue matters beyond Trinidad and Tobago because several Caribbean countries have similar laws and also use the Privy Council as their final court of appeal. Courts in the region have taken different approaches, including a ruling in St Lucia that struck down its ban.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Activist wins 10-year fight against homophobic Trinidad and Tobago laws”.