[JURIST] The Supreme Court of India [official website] agreed Tuesday to review its 2013 decision reinstating [JURIST report] an 1861 law prohibiting sex between consenting adults of the same sex. The law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, was passed during the British colonial era and calls for a 10-year sentence for “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal.” The High Court of Delhi [official website] found the law unconstitutional in 2009, but the Supreme Court found that the ruling was beyond the power of the court and that the decision should be left to the legislature.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. In December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.