Legislative Development on Criminal Offences Related to Property Under the Criminal Code: A Case Study of Offences Against Intangible Objects

Abstract

This research intended to study certain problem on offence against property under the Criminal Code to the extent of offence against intangible object and to compare an offence against property under Thai laws with foreign laws to the extent of offence against intangible object using qualitative research method in collecting data such as documentary research, research on both Thai and foreign papers, in-depth interview with experts and scholars on criminal laws together with academic symposium. The finding was that offence against property under the Criminal Code does not clearly cover offence against intangible object which, as a result, creates certain problem in legal enforcement and interpretation in practice, especially, the interpretation of the term "property" under the Criminal Code to the extent of offence against electric current, telephone signal or wifi signal, internet network, computer data and virtual currency in accordance with the scope of research. Subsequent to undertaking certain comparative study on offence against property under Thai laws and foreign laws such as, for civil law system, the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic, and for common law system, United Kingdom and United States of America, the researcher would recommend that offence against property under the Criminal Code to the extent of offence against intangible object should be amended in order to provide clarity to the legal enforcement using solution as used in the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic, as both countries are having civil law system as Thailand, by enacting a new section to offence against property under the Criminal Code as the section for offence against intangible object to eliminate any argument in interpretation relating to offence against intangible object and to create clarity which will result in increasing the effective legal enforcement.