Lost property

Procedures to be taken upon the finding of lost property

"Question: What procedure should be followed on the discovery of lost property?

"Answer: If such property be found in the town, its discovery is to be announced once by the town crier. If the owner of the property is then found, it should be delivered up to him. Otherwise, the finder of the property should wait one year, and if, during this period, the owner cometh to light, the finder should receive from him the crier's fee and restore to him his property; only if the year should pass without the owner's being identified may the finder take possession of the property himself. If the value of the property is less than or equal to the crier's fee, the finder should wait a single day from the time of its discovery, at the end of which, if the owner hath not come to light, he may himself appropriate it; and in the case of property discovered in an uninhabited area, the finder should observe a three days' wait, on the passing of which period, if the identity of the owner remain unknown, he is free to take possession of his find."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Question and Answer, no. 17)

Summarized by Shoghi Effendi at IV.D.1.t under "Miscellaneous Laws and Ordinances" as "The finding of lost property"

A possible outline of the above

1. Discovery (of an item is greater in value than the town crier's fee) to be announced once by the town crier
   1. If the owner is found, deliver it to him.
   2. If the owner is not found, a year should elapse.
      1. If the owner appears, the property should be restored (after paying a crier's fee)
      2. If the owner does not appear, the finder can take possession of it.
2. For an item of less or equal value to the town crier's fee (found in a habited area), the discoverer must wait one day (after announcing it to the village anyways?).
   1. If the owner does not come to light, the discoverer can possess it.
3. For an item of less or equal value to the town crier's fee (found in an uninhabited area), the discoverer must wait three days (not taking possession of it).
   1. If the owner does not come to light, the discoverer can appropriate the property.

A revenue for the village storehouse

"The storehouse has seven revenues: ...all lost objects found whose owners cannot be traced...".

(From a Tablet dated 4 October 1912 to an individual believer -translation from the Persian in the Economics compilation, sel. 9 (or see Redistribution of Wealth compilation no. 9); an earlier translation can be found in "Foundations of World Unity" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1972, pp. 39-40).)

Question: If taken in conjunction with the quotation from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas above, will this revenue come as part of the town-crier's fee, or for those who do not wish to appropriate the possessions?

Law not yet binding

"IV.D.1.t, The laws relating to the finding of lost property...are all designed for a future state of society. These matters are usually covered by the civil law of each country." (Universal House of Justice, https://bahai-library.com/uhj_laws_not_binding )

See also

• treasure trove disposition (for disposition of goods found (manifestly) not belonging to anyone)