Law – 2 Criminal law | e-Consult
2 Criminal law (1 questions)
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Model Answer
Section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 defines theft as occurring when a person dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.
- Actus Reus
- Appropriation: Any assumption of the rights of the owner, including taking, using, or dealing with the property.
- Property: Money, tangible moveable items, intangible rights, etc.
- Belonging to another: The owner or someone with a sufficient proprietary interest.
- Intention to permanently deprive: The intention to treat the property as one's own to the exclusion of the owner.
- Mens Rea
- Dishonesty: Assessed by the Ghosh test (now the Ivey test) – the defendant must have acted contrary to the ordinary standards of honesty and must have realized that what they were doing was dishonest by those standards.
- Intention: The defendant must intend the appropriation and the permanent deprivation.
- Defences
- Claim of Right (s. 2(4)): A genuine belief that the property is yours, even if unreasonable, can negate dishonesty.
- Consent: If the owner consents to the appropriation, there is no theft.
- Other statutory defences: Such as mistaken belief as to ownership, or a statutory authority to take the property.