THE PLACE OF THEFT IN CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE PROPERTY RIGHTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE CONCEPT OF THEFT UNDER THE LEGAL SYSTEMS OF ENGLAND, IRAN, CANADA AND FLORIDA USA

The concept of theft has a close link with the concept of property rights. Considering the evolution of these concepts, in the first part of this paper the concepts shall be examined from a theoretical perspective. At this level "property" is defined as a cluster of four kinds of rights, i.e. the rights of possession, alteration, use, and transfer which are applicable to moveable and immovable as well as tangible and intangible properties. Parallel to this definition, the conceptual scope of theft is also determined in respect of any violation of the above rights in various forms of properties. The main argument of this paper is that our definition of property rights affects the scope and nature of the concept of theft. In the second part of this paper and from an empirical perspective we shall examine the place of crime of theft under various legal systems.