Forfeiture Provisions and the Civil/Criminal Divide

This article considers the increased use of civil forfeiture regimes, under which governments can confiscate property of another thought to have been obtained through unlawful means. These regimes do not require that a suspect be convicted of wrongdoing, and it is irrelevant they have been acquitted of such suspected wrongdoing. They blur the lines between the civil and criminal law. Typically, confiscation of a person's property due to alleged wrongdoing would follow conviction of a crime. The article argues it is unacceptable in principle to confiscate a person's property based on mere suspicion it has been obtained improperly.