Jones v. Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago

Jason Jones, an LGBTQ activist from Trinidad, brought a constitutional challenge against Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act (1986). Section 13 criminalized anal intercourse (buggery), and Section 16 criminalized serious indecency between persons of the same sex. Jones argued these provisions violated his rights to privacy, equality before the law, and freedom of expression under the Constitution. In 2018, the High Court agreed and declared both provisions unconstitutional, holding that they unjustifiably infringed on fundamental rights. The Court rejected arguments that the laws were necessary to protect public morals or the family, finding instead that they were discriminatory and unsupported by evidence.

On March 25, 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned this ruling. See: Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago v. Jason Jones.
The Court found that although the 1986 Sexual Offences Act modernized and increased penalties for the same acts criminalized in colonial law, the Constitution’s savings clause preserved those earlier laws. As a result, the Court held that the original criminal prohibitions remain valid, but only at their pre-1986 penalty levels, five years for buggery and two years for gross indecency. The ruling effectively re-criminalized consensual same-sex activity between adults, though with reduced penalties.

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