Trinbagonian Jason Jones wins landmark Privy Council judgement deeming ‘buggery laws’ unconstitutional

‘The law finally caught up with basic human dignity’

Eight years and nearly seven months after Justice Devindra Rampersad ruled, in the case of LGBTQ+ activist Jason Jones vs. the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, that Sections 13 and 16 of Trinidad and Tobago’s Sexual Offences Act Chapter 11:28 — which criminalise anal sex between consenting adults — were “unconstitutional,” the United Kingdom’s Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, still Trinidad and Tobago’s highest appellate court, overturned a 2025 Court of Appeal decision to keep the country’s “buggery law” on the books.

It has been a long road to get to this point. Almost as soon as the 2018 judgement went in Jones’ favour, the Trinidad and Tobago government announced its intention to appeal, with then Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi stating, “The rights of equality in the Constitution are clearly expressed. A first-instance decision is not the only decision to rely upon to settle the law. [An appeal] is only prudent so we can conclusively put the matter to rest.”

Almost seven years later, on March 25, 2025, a local appeal court overturned the 2018 judgement. Jones was disappointed but not deterred, vowing to take the case all the way to the Privy Council. He remained true to his word and on November 10, 2026 — quite ironically, given that it was a colonial-era law — British lawlords finally ruled on the matter.

There were a few key issues to be considered, including how to address the controversial “savings law” clause in the legislation — laws enacted prior to colonised countries becoming independent and developing their own constitutions, that were “saved” to remain in force even afterwards. Jones maintained that the clause had “no place in a 21st century democracy” and that Trinidad and Tobago’s government and parliament were “derelict” in not removing it, especially after the twin-island nation became a republic in 1976.

The Council’s conclusion in the case, which deemed that “Sections 13 and 16 of the SOA 1986 have been shown by Mr Jones ‘not to be reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual,’” caused it to agree with the 2018 ruling and deny the attorney-general’s cross-appeal.

With other regional territories also using the Privy Council as their highest court of appeal, the result could augur well for similar actions across the wider Caribbean. As Jones told reporters on the steps of Trinidad’s Hall of Justice following his 2018 triumph, “The human rights issue is not just local […] Over 75 million Commonwealth citizens are criminalised using similar laws — 37 Commonwealth nations — criminalised similarly to Trinidad.”

Still, Jones — who launched his legal challenge in 2015 — says that the fight continues: “Whilst I welcome this judgement, it does not, however, address the main issues of human rights and equality for LGBTQ+ people which have been denied using British colonial-era laws across the Commonwealth and beyond.” It is a stance echoed by many LGBTQ+ organisations, as issues of discrimination, language, and societal and religious acceptance also persist. Jones is well aware that changing these attitudes requires broader reform and re-education.

The law lords’ unanimous, provisional view, however, was that the original High Court remedy should stand. However, there may well be written submissions still to come.

Reactions from both within and beyond the LGBTQ+ community soon followed. Facebook user Ian Ragoonanan described the Privy Council ruling as “the law finally [catching] up with basic human dignity,” while academic Richard Drayton felt that the most important paragraph in the Privy Council judgement read: “[T]he rights in Sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution develop over time, since the Constitution is a living instrument capable of reflecting contemporaneous understandings of constitutional values […] The longer the passage of time, the more likely it is that those values will have developed in modern society and the more likely it is that the Constitution has to be interpreted accordingly.”

Pride TT, meanwhile, celebrated the victory: “We salute Jason Jones for his courage, resilience and unwavering determination, and recognise the advocates, allies and organisations who have stood alongside this fight for justice.” More than a mere legal milestone, it said, the judgement was “a reminder that everyone deserves to live with dignity, privacy and freedom from discrimination.”

Written by Janine Mendes-Franco