Appropriating Found Assets – Origin, History and Current Issues

When I first came into contact with the provisions of the Romanian Criminal Code, I was surprised to note that it includes an offence entitled appropriation of found assets. Subsequently, I realised that the concern for this type of act is rooted in the bi-millenary tradition of the Christian Church. Furthermore, analysing the discussions on this topic, both those recorded in writing and oral ones, I found that there are persons who feel mistreated when under investigation for appropriating found property. This lack of knowledge extends beyond these issues. Certain newspapers in Romania feature sections of advertisements by people who have found certain items and some may even demand a reward for returning the lost property to the rightful owner. All these issues prompted me to select as the topic of this paper the offense of appropriating found assets.