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The Court of Appeal has reduced penalties for acts of buggery (anal sexual intercourse) and other acts of serious indecency, while at the same time maintaining their criminal status.

In a majority ruling, Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux and Charmaine Pemberton upheld an appeal by the Attorney General against a ruling by the High Court which deemed portions of local sexual offences law to be unconstitutional because they criminalised sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex. Justice Vashiest Kokaram dissented.

The 196-page decision was handed down on March 25.