Privy Council Rules Against Trinidad and Tobago’s Same-Sex Criminalisation Provisions
The court upheld a constitutional challenge to provisions of the 1986 Sexual Offences Act and will consider final remedial wording.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has ruled in favour of activist Jason Jones in his challenge to provisions of Trinidad and Tobago's Sexual Offences Act that criminalised private consensual same-sex activity between adults.
In its November 10 judgment, the committee concluded that sections 13 and 16 of the 1986 law were not protected from constitutional review and were not reasonably justifiable under the country's fundamental-rights framework. It dismissed the government's cross-appeal.
The court said it would receive further written submissions before settling the final form of its order. The ruling is a major development in Caribbean constitutional law and the protection of privacy and fundamental rights.
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