UK judges begin hearing appeal over Trinidad and Tobago anti-gay law
Summary
Judges in the UK are reviewing a case about whether a Trinidad and Tobago court had the right to remove a colonial-era law that criminalizes anal sex between consenting men. The case involves the UK’s highest court for some Commonwealth countries and centers on a law from 1925 that Trinidad and Tobago kept after independence.Key Facts
- The law in question, called the “buggery law,” was created in 1925 and is part of Trinidad and Tobago’s 1986 Sexual Offences Act.
- In 2018, a Trinidadian activist, Jason Jones, won a ruling that said the law violated the country’s constitution.
- The ruling was overturned in 2023 after the country’s attorney general appealed.
- Now, the case is before the UK-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the highest court for some Commonwealth countries.
- The Trinidadian government opposes removing the law, saying it could affect other colonial-era laws kept after independence, known as “savings clauses.”
- Similar laws have been struck down recently in other Caribbean nations, like Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.
- Jason Jones argues the law criminalizes and harms LGBTQ+ people and is confident the court will rule in his favor.
- A decision from the Privy Council is expected in the next three to six months.
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