Appropriation

Question 1

Where is appropriation defined and what does it mean?

Answer 1

Appropriation is defined in section 3 of the Theft Act 1968 as any assumption of the rights of the owner.

Question 2

What does an owner have?

Answer 2

The owner has a number of rights over property, such as the right to use, sell, lend, destroy, consume, hire out, or possess, and assuming any one of these rights is sufficient for appropriation.

Question 3

When can an appropriation occur?

Answer 3

Appropriation can occur where the defendant takes or deals with property as if they were the owner, even if only one right is assumed.

Question 4

What happened in R v Morris?

Answer 4

In R v Morris switching price labels was held to be an assumption of the owner’s rights.

Question 5

What was established in R v Gomez and R v Hinks?

Answer 5

Appropriation can still occur even where the owner consents to the taking, as established in R v Gomez and R v Hinks.

Question 6

What was established in R v Pitham and Hehl and R v Vinall?

Answer 6

Appropriation may include acts such as selling another person’s property, as in R v Pitham and Hehl, or taking parts of property, as in R v Vinall.

Question 7

Application sentence:

Answer 7

In this scenario, the court must consider whether the defendant assumed any of the rights of the owner.