Privy council to rule on removal of homophobic laws in Trinidad

The privy council in London will soon be called upon to make the final decision on a court case to remove homophobic laws in Trinidad and Tobago.

- Joshua Surtees

The laws were repealed in 2018 in a high court judgment that struck from the statute book the "buggery law" that had criminalised consensual anal sex since an act passed in 1925 under British rule. However, last week Trinidad's supreme court upheld a government appeal against the ruling and recriminalised the act, dealing a blow to LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean country and prompting the UK Foreign Office to update its travel advice.

The 2018 case was brought by Jason Jones, an LGBTQ+ activist. This week he said he would continue the fight before the privy council - Trinidad's final court of appeal. Central to his argument will be the "savings clause", which former British empire jurisdictions such as Trinidad can revert to when a challenge is made to their constitution.