A decade-long battle

Mr Jones commenced proceedings before the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago in 2017, seeking declarations that sections 13 and 16 of the 1986 Act are unconstitutional and void. He challenges these laws on the basis that they infringe his fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution, including his rights to equality before the law, the protection of the law, a private life, freedom of expression, and freedom from cruel or unusual punishment. 

In April 2018, the High Court declared sections 13 and 16 to be invalid to the extent that they criminalise consensual relationships between adults of the same sex – a major victory for the LGBTQ+ community in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as across the Caribbean and Commonwealth.

Unfortunately, the High Court's decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in March 2025. The majority of the Court of Appeal held that a “Savings Clause” in the Constitution applied to the offences in the 1986 Act. In effect, the Savings Clause shields certain pre-independence laws from invalidity, even if (as in this case) they otherwise conflict with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. 

The Court of Appeal accordingly held that sections 13 and 16 were not entirely invalid, and as a result remained in effect. However, it reduced the severity of the potential penalties, and disapplied section 16 insofar as it would otherwise apply to consenting female same-sex couples, on the basis that these elements of the offences departed from the pre-independence position (and therefore did not fall within the scope of the Savings Clause).