(i) Contrectatio
This is the act of taking possession of a thing Divesting the actual owner of the possession thereof. “Contrectatio” therefore represents the act of completion of the theft and all acts which precede it may, if all other conditions are satisfied, constitute an attempt. But the precise notion of contrectatio is a matter of serious controversy among jurists. Three main theories have been propounded, i.e. (a) According the first, contrectatio consists in removing the thing from the place in which it was; therefore as soon as there has been such removal, the theft is couplet It is consequently not necessary that the thing be also carried away from the room or from the house of the owner, because although he is in possession of the room or of the house, he is no longer in possession of the thing. (b) According to the second theory, contrectatio is made up of “apprehensio” and "amotio de loco ad locum". So that contrectatio may be said to be complete and that the theft may be said to be consummated, it is not enough that the thing be taken away from the portion of space which it occupied, but it is also necessary that it be removed from the sphere of possession or actual control of its lawful possessor. Before this happens, that is to say in the interval between the “apprehensio” and the “amotio de loco ad locum” there may be an attempt; but the theft cannot be said to be consummated or completed if therefore the thief is surprised before he has gone out of the room or of the house »he will be guilty of an attempt and not of the completed theft, (c) According to the third theory, the theft is not consummated before the thing has been safely carried away, that is carried away to the place where the thief intended to take it (ao loco quo destina ver at) ; consequently the theft is not completed, not only where the thief is surprised while he is still in the house, but also where, having gone out of the house, the thief is caught while carrying the thing to the place he had appointed. This third theory is propounded by a small minority and may be discarded. The second theory was strongly advocated by Pessina and v/as, in fact, enshrined in the Italian Penal Code of 1889. “This theory”, Pessina wrote, “less strict (then the theory of Page 325 of 350