TRANSCRIPTS
Unit 5, Lesson 2, Exercise E 1.23
Part 3 Let’s look now at some of the defences to theft. Firstly, what is acting dishonestly? The Theft Act section 2 doesn’t give a precise definition of dishonesty, but identifies what it is not. According to the Act, there are three elements to this. A person does not act dishonestly if he appropriates property in the belief that:
firstly, he has in law the right to deprive the other of it; or …
secondly, he would have the other’s consent; or …
thirdly, the person to whom the property belongs cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps.
So, for example, if you find someone’s mobile phone on a train seat, there are reasonable steps you can take to discover the owner by, for example, dialling one of the numbers. If you keep the phone, you may be guilty of theft. But if you find a book on a train seat, and there is no name inside, what can you do? How can you find out the owner? Er … where was I? Yes, yes. It may not be a defence to say you are willing to pay for the thing. It may still be construed as dishonest appropriation. For example, imagine that John lends Mary a book. If Mary sells the book to Bill and then offers to pay John the money she got from Bill, she may still be guilty of theft.
Unit 5, Lesson 3, Exercise B 1.24 Part 4
So how do the courts deal with cases involving theft? By applying the rules of statutory interpretation. Actually, the Theft Act is arguably one of the most important laws on the statute book. So, it follows that the courts must ensure that cases involving theft are properly interpreted. What I mean is, they are interpreted in the way in which Parliament intended. Fundamentally, the courts have had to interpret a number of key words, which have at times caused judges some difficulty. Anyway, er … to return to the main point, it’s essential to identify the basic components that make up the crime of theft. Naturally, it is the aim of all judges to interpret the statute in a just and fair way.
There are several important cases where the key words I have identified have needed to be
121
interpreted. The courts have had to consider factors such as honest and dishonest appropriation. However … oh, dear … sadly, I see that we’ve run out of time. This means that I’ll have to ask you to do some research. I’d like you to find out the way in which the courts have interpreted the key concepts of the Theft Act that I’ve mentioned: acting dishonestly, appropriation, permanently depriving and consent. I’m going to talk in some detail next time about the House of Lords case, R v Hinks [2000], but I’d like you to do some research into two other important cases which set precedents, that’s Gomez which was ... um ... 1992 ... no, ’93. That was also in the House of Lords. And finally Lawrence. Let’s see, that was ’72, wasn’t it? Yes, 1972 in the Appeal Court. We’ll discuss what you’ve found out next time I see you.
Unit 5, Lesson 3, Exercise C 1.25 1 in'terpret
2 a'ppropriate 3 a'ssumption 4 de'fence 5 a'ssignment 6 'precedent 7 defi'nition 8 com'ponent 9 'statutory
10 de'prive 11 in'tangible 12 'property
Unit 5, Lesson 3, Exercise D 1.26
Actually, the Theft Act 1968 is arguably one of the most important laws on the statute book. So, it follows that the courts must ensure that cases involving theft are properly interpreted. What I mean is, they’re interpreted in the way in which Parliament intended. Fundamentally, the courts have had to interpret a number of key words, which have at times caused judges some difficulty. Anyway, to return to the main point, it’s essential to identify the basic components that make up the crime of theft. Naturally, it is the aim of all judges to interpret the statute in a just and fair way.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139
