- The Privy Council in London has overturned a Trinidad and Tobago law that criminalised consensual same-sex sexual acts between men, ruling that the legislation violated fundamental human rights.
- The landmark legal challenge was brought by Jason Jones, a native of the Caribbean Commonwealth nation, who argued that provisions in the Sexual Offences Act infringed upon protections guaranteed under the country's constitution.
- Mr Jones originally won his case in Trinidad and Tobago's High Court, but after that decision was set aside, he took his appeal to the Privy Council, which serves as the nation's final court of appeal.
- Delivering the judgment, Judge Philip Sales declared the law unconstitutional, stating that fundamental individual rights to respect for private and family life protect a core part of human identity, including sexual orientation.
- The court concluded that legislation seeking to criminalise consensual same-sex activities cannot be justified under the constitutional framework of Trinidad and Tobago.
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