Overview

• The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rejected the final appeal against Governor Martyn Roper’s enactment of the civil partnership law, affirming its legality.
• The court confirmed that same-sex couples are entitled to legal protections functionally equivalent to marriage under the territory’s Bill of Rights.
• The Civil Partnership Law followed a July 2020 parliamentary defeat of a civil unions bill and was enacted by Roper in September to uphold human rights.
• Lawyer Chantelle Day and nurse Vickie Bodden Bush, whose landmark court challenge sparked the law change, said the decision underscores the need to remedy breaches of fundamental rights.
• Advocacy group Colours Caribbean said the ruling clarifies that constitutional rights cannot be overridden by parliamentary vote and may influence LGBTQ+ rights in other Caribbean jurisdictions.