Same sex acts or buggery, even if it is between two consenting men, is still illegal in Trinidad following a local appeal’s court ruling that had overturned a lower court’s decision that had allowed such relations.
In a ruling in the past week, the higher court by a 2-1 vote overturned a 2018 decision which had found that two key sections of the sexual offenses act were unconstitutional. The act criminalizes buggery or sex between two consenting men even if the act takes place in the privacy of their own home. The act provides for sentences of up to 25 years but the court said such a harsh sentence will be reduced going forward.
Justices Nolan Bereaux and Charmaine Pemberton sided with the state while Vasheist Kokaram voted for plaintiff Jason Jones, a UK-based Trinidadian who is openly gay. He has vowed to appeal the case to the Privy Council in London, the twin island federation with Tobago final court. Jones is a known LBGTQ activist.
The two justices who voted to keep the statutes on the books argued that these were settled law and should remain on the books. Reading from the bench, Justice Bereaux did admit that the court’s ruling might be hard to swallow but suggested that changes would have to flow from parliament rather than the courts. “As unpalatable as that may be, that is the effect of Section 6(2) of the constitution. It is an emotive issue which engages vibrant discussion in the court of public opinion. Judges cannot change the law. We give effect to parliament’s intention.”
The judge also noted that post-independence newer legislation had as well infringed on constitutional rights by singling out gay men by determining that buggery via anal intercourse is criminal. “I can see no benefit to the public interest in the criminalizing of behaviors which are largely undetectable and are undetected. The offences and penalties imposed are largely an empty futility.”
For his part, Jones argued in a social media posting that such legal clauses have no place in a 21st century world. “The government of T&T and our parliament are derelict in their duties by not removing it so many years after we became a republic in 1976.”
