Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Germany

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act Criminal Code, § 323c StGB ("unterlassene Hilfeleistung" — failure to render assistance); civil protection of the rescuer via § 680 BGB (negotiorum gestio in emergencies — liability limited to gross negligence)
Scope of protection § 323c StGB punishes anyone who fails to help in an accident, common danger or emergency where assistance is necessary and reasonable without significant personal risk. On the civil side, § 680 BGB limits the liability of a rescuer acting to avert imminent danger to cases of intent or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit) only.
Duty to rescue Yes
Penalty for failure to assist Imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine (§ 323c StGB)
AED liability protection No
Legal duty to rescue applies

Your protection under the law

In Germany, the good-faith rescuer is not left alone to face legal risk. § 323c StGB makes failure to render assistance an offence, while on the civil side § 680 BGB — negotiorum gestio in emergencies — limits the liability of someone acting to avert imminent danger to cases of intent or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit) alone. In practice, an honest slip made while sincerely trying to save a life cannot be held against you.

Duty to rescue

In Germany, rendering assistance is a duty imposed by law: § 323c StGB punishes anyone who fails to help in an accident, common danger or emergency where assistance is necessary and reasonable without significant personal risk. Failing to act carries up to one year's imprisonment or a fine. This duty is not a crushing one: it merely assumes you know what to do — which is exactly what training provides, making you able to act correctly rather than freeze.

Why training matters

German law expects you to act, and it protects the sincere attempt; it is up to you to make that attempt effective. Faced with a cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation cuts the chance of survival by roughly 10%, and the first moments — when only the bystander is present — weigh more than anything that follows. Training turns a legal obligation into a real skill: knowing how to give compressions, use a defibrillator and stay clear-headed when a life depends on it. Don't be the bystander who didn't know how — become the one who did.