Positive commandment · Mitzvat Aseh #239 of 613
To judge a thief, obligating him for payment or execution
לדון לגנב בתשלומין או במיתה
The verse · Shemot 21:37
כִּי יִגְנֹב־אִישׁ שׁוֹר אוֹ־שֶׂה וּטְבָחוֹ אוֹ מְכָרוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה בָקָר יְשַׁלֵּם תַּחַת הַשּׁוֹר וְאַרְבַּע־צֹאן תַּחַת הַשֶּׂה
“If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.”
The Rambam’s words
To judge a thief, obligating him for payment or execution, as [Exodus 21:37] states: "Should a theft be perpetrated," as [Exodus 22:1] states: "If when breaking in," and, as [Exodus 21:16] states: "If one kidnaps a person and sells him,…. "
לדון לגנב בתשלומין או במיתה, שנאמר: "וכי יגנוב" (ראה שמות כא,לז), "אם במחתרת" (שמות כב,א), "וגונב איש ומכרו" (שמות כא,טז).
Why · Sefer HaChinuch #54
The commandment on the court to judge a thief with repayment or the death penalty
“The root of the commandment of justice is well-known.”
Who & when
“And [it] is practiced by males, as it is upon them to administer law.”
Where in the Mishneh Torah
Hilchot Theft הלכות גניבה