A British court overturned an antiquated colonial-era law prohibiting gay sex in the twin-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
In its ruling, the London-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – which is the highest appeals court for several former British colonies – sided with a lower court ruling that previously struck down the islands’ government law that criminalized “buggery” and “indecency” between gay partners.
The original law dates back centuries, when England passed a “Buggery Act” during Henry VIII’s rule in the 1500s. The British Empire eventually enacted a version of it in Trinidad and Tobago with a 1925 act.
According to Privy Council Judge Philip Sales: “Those laws cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual… Laws which seek to criminalize such activities cannot be justified.”
A former British colony, Trinidad and Tobago gained independence in the 1960s, though it remains a republic within the British Commonwealth. Its anti-LGBTQIA+ law allowed for prison terms of up to five years for “buggery”, and two years for “gross indecency.”
The courts was asked to rule on Trinidad and Tobago’s law after it was challenged by one Jason Jones, an LGBTQ+ rights activist who was born in Trinidad but now lives in the UK. Jones won his challenge of the law in the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago in 2018. However, the islands’ Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in 2025. This forced Jones to take the case to the Privy Council for a final appeal.
The judgment only applies to Trinidad and Tobago, though it could now be used to challenge gay sex bans in other former colonies that use the London-based court as their highest appeals court.
