Saint Kitts and Nevis ban on gay sex struck down by Caribbean regional court

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled against two portions of the Offences Against the Person Act, adopted in the dual-island nation in 1873, which called for up to 10 years' imprisonment for having or attempting to have gay sex.

The law's statutes criminalising gay sex are inconsistent with the Constitution "and, as such, [are] null and void, and of no force and effect”, wrote high court Judge Trevor M Ward in a decision dated August 29.

The suit was brought by Jamal Jeffers, a gay man from the Caribbean nation, and a non-profit organisation called Saint Kitts and Nevis Alliance for Equality.

The country's Attorney-General, the defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court hears disputes involving members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, which includes six independent countries and three overseas British territories.

Buggery laws remain on the books in a number of Caribbean nations, including Jamaica and Barbados. Though they are rarely enforced, gay rights activists say that eliminating them would help ease pervasive homophobia.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Nick Macfie.)