The main principles of the crime of theft in the UAE are governed by Federal Law No. 3. There are some key facets of the law that must be present to constitute theft, including:
- The object that has been stolen must be so-called ‘real movable property’ that has a real value and is owned by another. Theft of other things, such as immovable property like land or non-real movable property like ideas and thoughts, are governed by other legislation.
- Theft must be distinguished from crimes of fraud, that rely on an element of deceit; or breach of trust when a person keeps something for their own benefit that they had access to through their position of authority.
- To establish a crime of theft, there must exist two key elements: the action (the ‘actus reus’) and the intention to commit the action (the ‘mens rea’).
- The action must involve the acquisition of an object from a victim in a manner that was involuntary. There must be an absence of free will that accompanied the transition of the property from the owner to the accused.
- With the exception of cases where extra money given over from banks or exchange houses that is not declared, the intention to steal must be present before or during the crime.
- Ownership must also be established before theft can be committed; so if someone has abandoned an object this cannot be ‘stolen’. However is someone claims an object that has no owner, and then this is subsequently taken from that person, this will count as theft as ownership and possession was reasserted.
- If someone simply forgets an object, this does not amount to it being abandoned, and therefore theft occurs if another person takes it.
- You can also be convicted of stealing your own property if that property has been repossessed or held as a guarantee as a result a debt or default.
- Theft can also occur in a situation where a person keeps hold of an object they had access during temporary custody of something for another person, taken something from an apartment when you were given the key to pass on to an intended recipient. Temporary custody differs from partial custody, such as when a driver is given the use of your car, and this amounts to a breach of trust rather than theft.
- Custody also determines a lot in whether a person is charged with theft of attempted theft; if the person does not retain full possession of the object of desire, then the court may deem the theft has not been completed.
- The motive for theft is irrelevant, even in cases where a starving person steals food.
- Some interesting examples of cases that may be considered theft include:
- A possession owned by husband and wife can be considered to be stolen if one of the parties takes exclusive possession of it.
- Cases where an agreement for one party to buy a possession from another will amount to theft if the person takes possession and subsequently fails to complete agreed payments.
- Food eaten inside a supermarket before payment can be considered theft if there was no intention to pay. However if the intent exists, this does not constitute theft.
- Conducting activities like fishing or hunting without necessary permits does not constitute theft as the owner of such resources like fisheries is deemed to be nature. These crimes are governed under different laws.