From the Dutch point of view it goes like this. Yes a person does have the right to defend his property but only with reasonable force. You can detain someone who is attempting to steal your TV for instance but you cannot stab him with a kitchen knife as that is not a reasonable response to the percieved threat.
Beating someone up for trying to steal your car might sound perfectly reasonable but it is not a reasonable response as a much lower level of violence would have resulted in the thief not stealing the car.
The point is that giving someone a beating is not an appropiate response to an attempted theft. You would have been in your right to arrest him (at least in Dutch law that is possible) and restraining him from leaving until the police arrives but you may not beat him up.
That said depending how badly you beat him up I doubt you will recieve a very high sentence. Possibly only a few hours of community service or even a suspended fine.
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Rabyd Rev -- 2 Timothy 2:15
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