1. From a civil point of view, the finder encroaches on the lost property, which constitutes unjust enrichment. The owner may bring a civil lawsuit to the court to demand the return of unjust enrichment.
2. From the point of view of criminal law, if the finder invades the lost property and refuses to return it, it may constitute the crime of embezzlement. Because the crime of embezzlement is a case of private prosecution, it will only be dealt with after being informed, and the owner can directly file a criminal lawsuit with the court. Legal basis: Article 270 of the Criminal Law.
The expansion comes from Zhong Xiuyong's Essence of Civil Law.
According to the provisions of Articles 3 14 to 3 19 of the Civil Code, there will be a legal relationship of rights and obligations between the finder and the finder (or the public security department and other relevant departments) because of the lost property (drifting, buried or hidden). The following is an analysis of the obligations and rights of the consignee.
The obligations of the finder (or relevant departments such as public security)
1. According to Article 3 14 of the Civil Law, it can be known that the finder cannot obtain the ownership of the lost property due to the act of finding it, and the owner has the right to request the finder to return the lost property and fruits. Therefore, the finder should return the lost property and fruits to the owner.
2. According to the provisions of Articles 3 14 and 3 15 of the Civil Code, the finder shall promptly notify the obligee to collect it, or deliver it to the public security and other relevant departments. If the relevant department receives the lost property and knows the obligee, it shall promptly notify it to collect it; If you don't know, you should publish a recruitment announcement in time.
3. According to Article 3 16 of the Civil Law, before the finder delivers the lost property to the relevant departments, the relevant departments shall properly keep the lost property before collecting it. If the lost property is damaged or lost due to intentional or gross negligence, it shall bear civil liability. Therefore, the finder should take good care of the lost property.
The rights of discoverers (relevant departments)
1, and the right to demand the refund of necessary expenses. The finder has the right to demand compensation from the owner for necessary expenses such as storage fee, maintenance fee, feeding fee and notification fee.
2. If the owner offers a reward for finding the lost property, the finder has completed the prescribed behavior (whether the finder knows the reward advertisement or not; Regardless of whether the finder is a person without civil capacity or a person with limited civil capacity, both parties have set up the debt of the reward advertisement, and the finder has the right to ask the reward provider to pay the reward according to the promise of the reward advertisement.
However, the application of the rights of the finder is based on the fact that the finder has not encroached on the lost property. The finder's occupation of the lost property not only loses the above rights, but also constitutes the crime of embezzlement when it reaches a certain amount.