The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the country’s buggery law is a matter for Parliament and not the judiciary.
The Lawyers Christian Fellowship, along with a number of churches and para-church groups had addressed the Court of Appeal in April during a two day hearing which involved LGBTQ activist Maurice Tomlinson and the Attorney General.
The Court of Appeal unanimously agreed that Supreme Court Judge Justice Tricia Hutchinson was wrong when she ruled in 2022 that there was no need for a separate trial to determine whether the court had the jurisdiction to enquire into the constitutionality of sections 76, 77, and 79 of the Offences Against the Person Act in light of the savings law clause.
The judges had asked at the time that the trial on this preliminary issue be held as soon as possible on a date to be fixed by the registrar of the Supreme Court, while Tomlinson’s substantive claim be stayed.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that, “The constitutionality of sections 76, 77 and 79 of the Offences Against the Person Act cannot be enquired into in the light of the savings law clause in section 13 (12) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Constitution of Jamaica.
The Court also stated that claim in consequence is dismissed and reserved questions of cost for further submissions.
