Government to appeal High Court ruling on buggery law

Attorney General Faris Al Rawi has given instructions to appeal the High Court ruling that the buggery law is unconstitutional.

Minister in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, who presented at the post-Cabinet media briefing this afternoon made the announcement.

He said he did not want to comment further on the ruling since he had not seen it. He also declined to comment more on Constitutional Reform. The law, part of the Sexual Offences Act, has been on the books as part of the country’s colonial history.

In 1976, when the Republican Constitution was enacted as the law of the land, these older laws were saved because of the Savings Provision, or section six of the Constitution.

This means even though the judge had ruled it unconstitutional under section four, which enumerates the country’s protections of human rights, the law still technically remains official.