Computer Theft in the Face of Unauthorized Access to Computer Material in Iranian, English and Welsh Law

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Qom University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

In the offence of theft, traditionally, property that is observable and tangible (concrete) is stolen. However, human advances, especially in the field of information technology, have led to the emergence of information that is no longer written on paper sheets but stored in spaces such as computer hard disks. Such data, which in many cases also have property characteristics, are considered intangible (inconcrete) property. In Iranian criminal law, the offences of computer theft and unauthorized access have been introduced to criminally protect such data. However, an examination of the approach of the Iranian legislator makes it clear that some flaws exist, including the lack of clarity in distinguishing certain components of the physical element of computer theft and the lack of clarification on whether the computer data belonging to another must be legitimate in both crimes. In contrast, under English and Welsh criminal law, information is not considered property, and theft of information is not recognized as an offence. Nevertheless, when someone attempts to gain unauthorized access to computer data, they may be prosecuted under the criminal offence of unauthorized access to computer material, which is classified as a conduct offence. Accordingly, the present article, by analyzing the constituent elements of the offences of computer theft and unauthorized access to computer material in the mentioned penal systems, proposes solutions to the Iranian legislator, such as separately specifying criminal behavior and result in computer theft, as well as restricting the definition of data to legitimate data.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. 1Approval Letter No. 56261/T62298H of the Council of Ministers regarding the Amendment of the Amounts related to Crimes and Violations Contained in Various Laws Dated 24/6/2024(In Persian).
  2. Aalipour, Hassan (2015). Information Technology Criminal Law. 4th edition, Tehran: Khorsandi Publications (In Persian).
  3. Bainbridge, David I. (2008). Introduction to Information Technology Law. 6th Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
  4. Bainbridge, David I. (2009). Intellectual Property. 7th Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
  5. Butterfield, Andrew & Ekembe Ngondi, Gerard (Eds) (2016). A Dictionary of Computer Science. 7th Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. Computer Crime (Scotland) Bill
  7. Computer Misuse Act 1990
  8. Computer Offences Act 2018(In Persian).
  9. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
  10. Criminal Procedure Code 2013 (In Persian).
  11. Data Protection Act 2018
  12. Davis, Jennifer (2012). Intellectual Property Law. 4th Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. Downing, Douglas A. et. al. (2009). Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms. 10th Edition, New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
  14. Edwards, Chris et. al. (1990). Information Technology & the Law. 2nd Edition, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
  15. Ellis v DPP [2001] EWHC 362 (Admin)
  16. E’temadi, Amir (2016). Specific Comparative Criminal Law: Assault against the Person. First Edition, Tehran: Mizan Legal Foundation (In Persian).
  17. E’temadi, Amir (2022 A). Specific Criminal Law: Property offences. Vol 1: Fraud and Breach of Trust, 2nd Edition, Tehran: Mizan Legal Foundation (In Persian).
  18. E’temadi, Amir (2022 B). Specific Criminal Law: Property offences. Vol 3: Criminal Damage and Issuance of Bad Check, First Edition, Tehran: Mizan Legal Foundation (In Persian).
  19. Gattiker, Urs E. (2004). The Information Security Dictionary. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers
  20. Grant v Procurator Fiscal [1988] RPC 41
  21. Haynes, Sandra (Ed) (2002). Microsoft Computer Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Washington: Microsoft Press
  22. Heydari, Ali Murad (2016). Offence against Property and Ownership. First Edition, Qom: Hazrat Masoumeh University Publications (In Persian).
  23. Islamic Penal Code 2013(In Persian).
  24. Judiciary Research Institute (2013). Collection of Judicial Decisions of Supreme Court Branches (Criminal). December 2011, First Edition, Tehran: Judiciary Press and Publishing Center (In Persian).
  25. Kranenbarg, Marleen Weulen and Leukfeldt, Rutger (Eds) (2021). Cybercrime in Context: The Human Factor in Victimization, Offending, and Policing. Springer Nature Switzerland AG
  26. Lloyd, Ian J. (2011). Information Technology Law. 6th Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  27. Mansourabadi, Abbas & Mansourabadi, Alireza (2024). Computer and Virtual Crimes Law. First Edition, Tehran: Mizan Legal Foundation (In Persian).
  28. Marion, Nancy E. & Twede, Jason (2020). Cybercrime: An Encyclopedia of Digital Crime. First Edition, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO
  29. Mohammad Nasl, Gholamreza (2012). Computer Crimes in Iran. First Edition, Tehran: Mizan Publishing (In Persian).
  30. Police and Justice Act 2006
  31. Protection of the Rights of Computer Software Creators Act 2000(In Persian).
  32. Regulations on How to Use Computer or Telecommunications Systems 2016(In Persian).
  33. Reichel, Philip L. et. al. (2019). Global Crime: An Encyclopedia of Cyber theft, Weapons Sales, and Other Illegal Activities. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO
  34. Rowland, Diane et. al. (2017). Information Technology Law. 5th Edition, London: Routledge
  35. Rowland, Diane & Macdonald, Elizabeth (2000). Information Technology Law. 2nd Edition, London: Cavendish Publishing Limited
  36. Taezirat Act 1996 (In Persian).
  37. The Law Commission, Working Paper No. 110, Computer Misuse, London: First Published 1988
Comparative Law Review

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 January 2026

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics