Englisch > Deutsch Rechts- und Patentwesen Recht (allgemein) legal concept under English law

The text outlines EU options to combat illegal logging and timber trade, specifically discussing legislation on stolen goods and criminal vs civil proceedings.

One paragraph to provide context:
"In the UK, the relevant legislation is the Theft Act 1968, which also applies to the handling of goods that have been stolen abroad. If the illegal activity has occurred abroad – which is likely with illegal logging – there must first be a request for the suspected stolen goods to be seized by a court or prosecuting authority in the country of origin, and criminal proceedings must have been instituted, or a person arrested, for the offence. This makes the application of these laws entirely dependent on the activities of the enforcement authorities in the producer countries. Possession of stolen goods in the UK is not an offence if the person possessing them can prove that they did not know they were stolen. However, once they are made aware of the fact, it is then an offence for them to sell the goods on to another person.

In most EU countries, an alternative route could be civil proceedings, which could be taken by the person or organisation lawfully entitled to possession of the products in the country of origin (in English law, under the ***tort of conversion***)."

Any help and explanation of the legal concept would be greatly appreciated (term shown in ***).

MTIA,
Steffen