Q: The problem with the offence of theft is that it can be committed even if the alleged thief assumes only one right of the owner, and even if the owner consents to the assumption of that right, and even if the alleged thief obtains indefeasible title to the property.
Discuss the validity of this statement.

Essay outline answer

A careful consideration of the quotation above should reveal the title is true insofar as it deals with appropriation. Your introduction should acknowledge this point and also provide a definition of theft from s 1(1) Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968). The main discourse which follows should deal with appropriation in detail and in the order mentioned in the title.

even if the alleged thief assumes only one right of the owner…

Start by explaining or reciting s 3(1) TA 1968 and although the words state 'of the rights', the House of Lords held in Morris (1983) that the assumption of any one of the rights of the owner is an appropriation.

even if the owner consents to the assumption of that right…

Although the decisions (strictly the ratio decidendi in the first and obiter dicta in the second) in Lawrence (1972) and Morris (1983) conflicted on this question, the matter was resolved in Gomez (1993) which held that an adverse interference with the owner's rights is not necessary for there to be an appropriation. Accordingly, the owner's consent is irrelevant to whether or not the defendant has appropriated. There was some question as to whether this decision applied only to cases of consent induced by deception, but this was settled in Hinks, below.

even if the alleged thief obtains indefeasible title to the property…

Lord Steyn in Hinks (2001) held that the Theft Act 1968 does not differentiate between consent induced by fraud and in other circumstances, and accordingly a person may appropriate even if he obtains indefeasible title over the property. His Lordship rejected the argument that such a conflict between criminal and civil law was unjustifiable.

Your conclusion might then return to the partial accuracy of the title (true as far as it goes) but there are five elements to theft, and all five must be proved. The other most contentious element is dishonesty and you might wish to finish your essay with some evaluation of the criticisms and uncertainty in the Ivey and Ghosh (1982) test.