Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Portugal

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 Article 200 of the Portuguese Criminal Code (Código Penal) — "Omissão de auxílio" (omission of assistance).
Scope of protection In a case of grave necessity — particularly caused by disaster, accident, public calamity or common danger — endangering another's life, physical integrity or freedom, anyone who omits the assistance necessary to avert the danger, whether by his own action or by summoning rescue, is punishable. The omission is not punishable where there is serious risk to the life or physical integrity of the would-be rescuer, or where for another relevant reason assistance cannot be required. No separate civil-immunity shield for the lay rescuer exists.
Duty to rescue Yes
Penalty for failure to assist Imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 120 days; aggravated form of up to two years' imprisonment or 240 days' fine where the danger was created by the person who omits assistance.
AED liability protection No
Legal duty to rescue applies

Your protection under the law

In Portugal, Article 200 of the Criminal Code — "Omissão de auxílio" — makes failure to render assistance an offence, placing the rescuer on the side of the law from the outset. The duty is judged with common sense: the omission is not punishable where there is serious risk to the life or physical integrity of the would-be rescuer, or where another relevant reason makes assistance unreasonable to require. There is no separate civil-immunity shield for the lay rescuer, but the criminal framework clearly enshrines the legitimacy of anyone acting to avert the danger.

Duty to rescue

In Portugal, helping is a legal obligation whenever a situation of grave necessity — disaster, accident, public calamity or common danger — threatens another's life, integrity or freedom: you must provide the necessary aid, whether by your own action or by summoning rescue. The omission carries up to one year's imprisonment or a fine, aggravated up to two years where the danger was created by the very person who abstains. The law does, however, respect your limits: it never asks you to place yourself in serious peril. Training teaches you to help effectively while staying safe yourself.

Why training matters

In Portugal, the law asks you to act in the face of another's distress; training turns that requirement into very real power. In a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival falls by about 10% with every minute that passes without resuscitation, and help, however fast, almost always arrives after those decisive minutes when only the bystander can act. Learning the lifesaving gestures means you stop being a helpless onlooker and become the first link in the chain of survival. One day, somewhere, someone will need hands that know what to do — let them be yours.