Sections

• S1(1) - a person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it
• S3(1) - defines appropriation as 'any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation'
• S4(1) - defines property as 'including money or any other property real or personal, or including things in action and other intangible property'
• S4(2) - a person cannot seal land or anything forming part of a land and severed from it by him or his directors, except in the following cases: (a) when he is a trustee and in breach of confidence (b) appropriating property by severing it or appropriating something previously severed (c) when in possession appropriating the whole or part of a fixture let to be used with the land.
• S4(3) - mushrooms and plants growing wild cannot be stolen unless for 'reward or sale of a commercial purpose'
• S4(4) - wild creatures cannot be stolen unless they are tamed or kept in captivity
• S5(1) - property shall be regarded as belonging to another if they are 'in possession or control of it or have it in any properitary rights or interests'
• S5(3) - if property is received properly under an obligation to deal with it in a particular way, but instead uses it for his own purpose, he will be guilty of theft
• S5(4) - if property is obtained by mistake then the D has an obligation to return the property to its rightful owner, if he fails to do this he will be classed as intending to deprive the other of it
• Dishonest isn't defined in S2(1) of the theft act but provides 3 examples as to where the D may be acting dishonestly:

  (a) believing that he has a right in law to deprive the owner of it

  (b) believing that the owner would consent to it if he knew

  (c) believing that the D took reasonable steps to restore the property to its rightful owner
• S2(2) - if the D is willing to pay or leave money for the property he would be classed as acting dishonestly
• S6(1) - D will have the intention to permanently deprive the owner of it if he intends to treated the property as his own to dispose of regardless of the owners rights
• If D borrows property for a time period, it would be an outright taking or disposal of and be classed as intending to deprive the other of it
• If D borrows property but returns it with it's 'goodness, virtue and practical Value', this will not be classed as permanently depriving the other of it