In short
- The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago’s final court of appeal, unanimously overturned the country’s laws criminalising same-sex intimacy.
- The case was brought by Jason Jones, 62, a dual citizen and human rights campaigner, after an 11-year legal battle.
- Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court ruled in Jones’s favour in 2018, but the Trinidadian government overturned that decision on appeal.
- Before the ruling, Trinidad and Tobago was one of some 34 Commonwealth countries that criminalised homosexuality under colonial-era British laws.
- It was the first time the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had decided a case to decriminalise same-sex intimacy.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago’s final court of appeal, has overturned the Caribbean country’s laws criminalising same-sex intimacy. In a unanimous judgment reported on 10 November 2026, the London-based court found the laws breached the “fundamental individual right to respect for private and family life”.
What did the Privy Council rule?
Handing down the judgment, Lord Sales said the laws “cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of an individual”. The judicial committee found unanimously in favour of the appellant. It was the first time the JCPC had decided a case to decriminalise same-sex intimacy.
Who is Jason Jones?
Jason Jones, 62, a dual citizen and human rights campaigner, brought the case and fought it for 11 years. Jones won in Trinidad’s High Court in 2018, but the Trinidadian government overturned that ruling on appeal.
“These laws never reflected who we are as a people and a nation – diverse, multiracial, and secular,” Jones said. “They told LGBTQ+ people that we were criminals in our own country. That message ends today.”
What was the government’s argument?
The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago had argued that the law was protected from legal challenges by “savings law clauses”, which carried over existing British laws into newly independent states. Representatives for Jones argued that the laws violated an individual’s right to privacy, and that the government’s changes to the laws in 1986, which saw stricter punishments introduced, meant the savings clause protections no longer applied.
How many Commonwealth countries criminalise same-sex intimacy?
Before the ruling, Trinidad and Tobago was one of some 34 Commonwealth countries still criminalising homosexuality on the basis of colonial-era British laws. Under those laws, consensual same-sex intimacy is punishable by imprisonment and, in some cases, carries the death penalty. Campaigners hope the JCPC decision will spark similar successful legal challenges elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
The laws struck down date from British colonial rule. At a summit, King Charles called the slave trade a “shameful chapter”, and a palace aide has said the King relishes politically charged overseas tours.
What did Jones’s lawyer say?
Anand Ramlogan SC, representing Jones, said the judgment was a “landmark victory for gay rights, equal dignity and respect for private and family life in Trinidad and Tobago”.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council?
It is the London-based court that serves as Trinidad and Tobago’s final court of appeal. In this case it ruled unanimously that the country’s laws criminalising same-sex intimacy breached the fundamental individual right to respect for private and family life.
Who is Jason Jones?
Jason Jones, 62, is a dual citizen and human rights campaigner who brought the challenge in an 11-year legal battle. He won in Trinidad’s High Court in 2018 before the Trinidadian government succeeded on appeal.
Will the ruling affect other Commonwealth countries?
The judgment applies to Trinidad and Tobago. Campaigners hope it will spark similar legal challenges elsewhere in the Commonwealth, where some 34 countries criminalised homosexuality under colonial-era British laws before the decision.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
