Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR South Africa

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 No dedicated Good Samaritan Act and no general duty to rescue. A mixed Roman-Dutch and common-law system: there is in principle no duty to rescue a stranger, but a legal duty to act can arise case-by-case under the boni mores ("legal convictions of the community") test set out in Minister van Polisie v Ewels 1975 (3) SA 590 (A), or from prior conduct, control of a dangerous object, a special protective relationship, statute or contract.
Scope of protection A pure omission does not by itself give rise to liability; it becomes wrongful where a legal duty to act existed. A rescuer who intervenes is judged by a "reasonable rescuer" standard given the emergency, with no statutory immunity. Constitutional values (the s. 27(3) right not to be refused emergency medical treatment) inform the analysis.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

South Africa has no dedicated Good Samaritan Act and no general duty to rescue a stranger. Its mixed system, blending Roman-Dutch law and common law, in principle recognizes no duty to rescue; yet a legal duty to act can arise case by case under the boni mores test — the "legal convictions of the community" set out in Minister van Polisie v Ewels 1975 — or from prior conduct, control of a dangerous object, a protective relationship, statute or contract. A rescuer who intervenes is judged by a "reasonable rescuer" standard that takes the emergency into account.

No duty to act, but every reason to

A pure omission does not by itself give rise to liability: it becomes wrongful only where a legal duty to act existed, so a mere bystander is not legally bound to rescue. Constitutional values, including the right not to be refused emergency medical treatment (s. 27(3)), inform this analysis without turning the choice to help into an obligation. Someone who helps in good faith, with the judgment of a reasonable rescuer, has no cause to fear a harsh assessment.

Why training matters

Whether or not the law requires action, the emergency does not negotiate: in cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation cuts the chance of survival by roughly 10 percent. In South Africa, where response times differ greatly from one neighbourhood to the next, the person on the scene is the first link in the chain of survival — the one who acts while every second still counts. Training in CPR and first aid means gaining the composure and the technique that separate watching helplessly from saving a life. This knowledge is not forgotten — and one day, it can change everything.