- Under what circumstances can a stolen vehicle be seized in your country?
- A vehicle that was stolen either in our country or another can be seized in Italy under any circumstances.
- What channels are used to notify the owner of the vehicle’s location (Interpol or other)?
- The owner is generally informed through Interpol channels but in some cases he may be informed directly by the department which found the vehicle, if the theft was committed in Italy and if the person reporting it left his telephone number.
- Who is responsible for the storage of seized vehicles?
- Vehicles that are found are generally towed away and stored by private companies.
- Are there any costs associated with storage of a seized stolen vehicle and who is responsible for these costs?
- The cost of towing away and storing may be paid by the Ministry of Justice, on the basis of a decision by the appropriate magistrate. However, even in those circumstances the owner is always required to pay any costs incurred after thirty days have elapsed subsequent to his being informed that the vehicle can be released. In major jurisdictional areas such as Milan, the owner is responsible for all costs incurred from the outset, for financial reasons.
- How does a stolen vehicle get restored to its legal owner?
a) Do the police have authority to restore the vehicle?
b) Is it the local court who authorises release of the vehicle?
- a & b) The judicial authority which authorized the seizure is the only institution which can decide to release the vehicle and return it to its lawful owner.
That judicial authority may decide to release the vehicle on its own initiative but it is preferable for the owner to send a request to the appropriate magistrate in order to speed up the procedure.
Once the vehicle has been released, it is handed over by the police department which seized it.
c) Is it necessary to have a “commission rogatoire” to recover the vehicle?
- The process does not require letters rogatory.
d) What documentation does the owner have to provide in order to recover the vehicle?
- An owner wishing to recover his vehicle must present a copy of the report on the theft and proof of ownership. He is also often asked to produce evidence of the fact that he has not received compensation from his insurance company.
- Are there any time limits associated with recovery of the vehicle? (i.e. after a certain period of time the vehicle becomes the property of the state or police, etc.)?
- No time limits have been set for recovering vehicles. However, a magistrate often decides to sell the vehicle at auction if its value exceeds the storage costs incurred in order to recover those costs. On the other hand, the magistrate may order a vehicle in very bad condition to be destroyed.
- Please give details of relevant legislation
- These details are given above.
- If the law in your country precludes the restitution of a stolen vehicle to its original owner, please give the reasons why
- In Italy, there are special regulations on the ownership of vehicles which are defined as “registered movable assets”. This means that ownership and successive transfers of ownership must be recorded in public registers where a purchaser can find out who a vehicle belongs to. Consequently, in practice, a person cannot purchase a stolen vehicle in good faith. A seized stolen vehicle is nearly always returned to its lawful owner or to the insurance company which compensated the lawful owner.
There is, however, a distinction to be made between real thefts and fraudulent declarations of thefts. A swindler may sell his vehicle and then report it as stolen. Since no theft has actually occurred, the insurance company that has been swindled may not find it easy to recover the vehicle. At the end of the day the final decision is always taken by the judicial authorities.
- Does your country have any bilateral treaties, conventions, or agreements with other countries dealing with the recovery of stolen property? If so, please describe how they operate and give details of the countries concerned
- The Italian NCB is not aware of any treaties, conventions or bilateral agreements concluded on this subject.
- Reference point, for assistance in case of difficulties
- For further details, or if difficulties arise, please contact our NCB’s stolen vehicle department.
Last update : February 2000