Privy Council strikes down Trinidad and Tobago gay sex ban in Tuesday ruling
The Privy Council ruled on Tuesday after a case that Jason Jones filed in February 2017.
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The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London struck down the Trinidad and Tobago gay sex ban on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. It ruled the colonial-era law unconstitutional, the AP reported. Activists around the world celebrated.
What the Privy Council ruled on the Trinidad and Tobago gay sex ban
Judge Philip Sales delivered the ruling. “Those laws cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedom of the individual,” he said.
CNN reported that the committee agreed with a lower court that had earlier struck down the law. The statute criminalised “buggery” and “indecency” between gay partners.
Key numbers
- February 2017: Jason Jones filed the case, arguing that the so-called “buggery” laws dating from British colonial rule are unconstitutional, according to the AP.
- 2018 and 2025: Jones won in the High Court in 2018, but the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in 2025, CNN reported.
- Five years: the maximum prison term under the laws, which have not been enforced in recent history, the AP said.
Who challenged the law: Jason Jones
Jones is an LGBTQ+ rights activist who was born in Trinidad and lives in the UK, CNN reported. After the Court of Appeal ruling, the court allowed him to seek a final ruling from London.
The government opposed him. So did the Council of Evangelical Churches and Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the country’s largest Hindu organisation, the AP reported.
Why the Privy Council ruling matters in the Caribbean
The country is a sovereign republic within the British Commonwealth, yet London’s committee remains its highest court of final appeal. Port of Spain has pushed for the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice to take that role instead.
A provision in some Caribbean constitutions protects colonial laws from legal challenges. Grenada, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines still have so-called buggery laws on the books, the AP said.
For another court ruling on gender and the law, see our report on the Bombay High Court and a transgender woman.
What happens next
The ruling closes the legal fight over the Trinidad and Tobago gay sex ban. It applies to that country alone. CNN noted that not every Caribbean state that criminalises sex between men falls within the committee’s appellate jurisdiction.
Trinidad and Tobago still uses the Privy Council as its final court, so the ruling ends the legal fight inside the country. Other Caribbean states with similar laws, including Grenada, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, are not automatically covered, because the ruling applies to Trinidad and Tobago.