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Problematic And Unnecessary? Issues With The Use Of The Theft Offence To Protect Intangible Property, Alex Steel
Problematic And Unnecessary? Issues With The Use Of The Theft Offence To Protect Intangible Property, Alex Steel
Alex Steel
This article questions whether misuse of intangible property should fall within the scope of theft — an issue on which Australian jurisdictions are currently divided. It provides an overview of the traditional limitation of larceny to moveable property and some of the difficult issues of interpretation of the modern theft offence that are related to the inclusion of intangible property. It then examines in detail a number of forms of intangible property to see if any of them are capable of forming the basis of a theft charge. The conclusion made is that intangible property is either unable to form …
The Harms And Wrongs Of Stealing: The Harm Principle And Dishonesty In Theft, Alex Steel
The Harms And Wrongs Of Stealing: The Harm Principle And Dishonesty In Theft, Alex Steel
Alex Steel
In ‘On the Nature and Rationale of Property Offences’ A P Simester and G R Sullivan argue that the Harm Principle can be used to justify property offences. This article provides a critique of that essay. It begins with an overview of the Harm Principle and some key criticisms of it. It then considers Simester and Sullivan’s argument that the conduct proscribed by property offences causes harm to the property regime generally. The article suggests that this is an overly broad notion of harm on which to base criminalisation, and one that fails to adequately identify which particular breaches of …