Global news network CNN reports that a British colonial era law against homosexuality in the terriroties of Trinidad and Tobago has been struck down by a high level court, liberating hundreds of LGBTQIA people in the two island micronation. CNN described it as a "milestone" in LGBTQIA civil rights in the region. The London-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – the highest appeals court for several former British colonies - said that it was in agreement with a lower courts recent striking down of laws against "gross indecency" and "buggery" in relation to same sex couples. Penalties had been as high as five years for crimes committed against the antiquainted law.

Privy Council Judge Philip Sales said: “Those laws cannot be regarded as reasonably justifiable in a society that has a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual.” They were then ruled unconstitutional. Trinidad and Tobago is a former British colony that gained independence in the 1960s and remains a republic within the British Commonwealth.

The challenge to the existing law was championed by Jason Jones, who was born in Trinidad but currently lives in the United Kingdom. Mr Jones said "“This is about the rights of the citizen, of every citizen, and body autonomy … and I really hope people see this more as a democratic movement rather than just LGBT.” The Human Dignity Trust welcomed Tuesday’s ruling, with its chief executive Téa Braun saying, “This is not only a victory for LGBT+ people in Trinidad and Tobago but another powerful affirmation that laws criminalizing private, consensual same-sex intimacy have no place in a society with due respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.” CAISO, a feminist organization advocating for sex and gender justice in Trinidad and Tobago, hailed the ruling as a “historic, landmark, legal victory.” “The decision is a clear indication that laws that unjustly discriminate against members of society, whether on the basis of their sexual orientation or any other characteristic, are contrary to the rights enshrined in constitutional principles and values,” the organization said in a statement. Ria Mohammed, an attorney and director of the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights said "“We have to still think about the fact that these laws were inherited from our colonial masters,.... (the British) have long since abandoned them. So why are we holding on to them?”