Jason Jones wins Privy Council ruling overturning Trinidad and Tobago's 'buggery laws'

Trinidad and Tobago's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on November 10, 2026, ruled that Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act—which criminalized consensual anal sex between adults—were unconstitutional, affirming a 2018 High Court judgment that the government had appealed and overturned locally in 2025. The ruling also invalidates the controversial 'savings law' clause that kept colonial-era laws in force after independence.

The judgment does not automatically repeal the law; Trinidad and Tobago's parliament must still enact formal legislation to remove the provisions from the books. Implementation by the government remains to be seen.