The Good Samaritan Law

[John Brown]

A friend of ours has just been questioned by the police in his role in an incident where he was percieved as not being a Good Samaritan

He may now face prosecution as it has been refered to the Procureur de la République

Whilst I would like to think I would assist anyone in trouble but how far must we go to comply with French Law

Are there any basic rules you should follow

John

 

[idun]

It's called 'non-assistance à personne en danger'. It is the law and I don't think that ignorance of it will be taken into account. It means if someone is in danger and one isn't going to risk one's own life to help, then help must be given.

Friends have done a porter plainte recently when no assistance was given, and I hope that they get justice.

[NormanH]

It isn't only failing to to to someone's aid when they are being attacked for example

This is seriously applied and even in rather unusual circumstance, such as knowing some thing was going on such as abuse and not reporting it, or not calling for an ambulance or the fire brigade (yes yes the same thing in France)

For example driving by an accident or not helping someone injured.

At the same time you aren't expected to be a hero. The law says 'without risk to oneself or third parties', so it is more like wilful neglicence.

The legal text is here

Quiconque pouvant empêcher par son action immédiate, sans risque

pour lui ou pour les tiers, soit un crime, soit un délit contre

l'intégrité corporelle de la personne s'abstient volontairement de le

faire est puni de cinq ans d'emprisonnement et de 75000 euros d'amende.

Sera puni des mêmes peines quiconque s'abstient

volontairement de porter à une personne en péril l'assistance que, sans

risque pour lui ou pour les tiers, il pouvait lui prêter soit par son

action personnelle, soit en provoquant un secours.

and there is a Wiki article in French here

[NickP]

Even if it is the law; it's a lot of tosh, sure we should all assist somebody if it's feasible, but jumping into the river if you can't swim is a no no. Also the French legal system did nothing about the paparazzi who carried on taking pictures of a dying Princess Diana without giving her and her companions assistance.

[NormanH]

I believe they were investigated under this law, even if not finally prosecuted.

As I said above you are specifically not expected to be a hero

[Gardengirl]

[quote user="NickP"]Even if it is the law; it's a lot of tosh, sure we should all assist somebody if it's feasible, but jumping into the river if you can't swim is a no no. Also the French legal system did nothing about the paparazzi who carried on taking pictures of a dying Princess Diana without giving her and her companions assistance.[/quote]

You aren't expected to put your or any other person's life in jeopardy, but it is expected that you help if possible.

I once didn't make it to a group walk I was on my way to with a group. Nor did the leader of the walk, whose car I was travelling in to the start of the walk. An old man had fallen over by the side of the road, which drops steeply down into the valley. We got out to help, and found that the man had no idea where he was, had lost a shoe, and was out collecting wild garlic. To leave him there could have meant him falling down the steep side of the hill, down into the valley (which is where the aqueduct the Romans built to take water to Nimes starts). We took him to the nearest house back up the hill, but nobody was in. We eventually took him back to the nearest café up the hill, where we spent some time, until we found somebody who knew of him. He lived in the house we had tried, but the relatives had gone out, leaving him safe inside, they thought. Somebody else led the walk after we contacted somebody in the group by phone, and I learned that part of French law.

[Benjamin]

gg and her companion's decision is fairly clear cut but what happens when an untrained individual is expected to make an instant judgement based upon a risk assesment which they have no experience of? I do hope that French law takes this into account when at a later date an "expert" witness decides that the risk that the individual thought they saw did not in fact exist.

[Clair]

[quote user="NickP"]Even if it is the law; it's a lot of tosh [...] Also the French legal system did nothing about the paparazzi who carried on taking pictures of a dying Princess Diana without giving her and her companions assistance.[/quote]

We've had this discussion before (here) and as I posted at the time, as long as the emergency services had been contacted, the duty to assist had been fulfilled.

Many an injury can be made a lot worse by untrained people wanting to help ((speaking as a first-aider).

Unless someone is trained in first-aid, the first things to do are first to alert the relevant emergency services, then to take steps to alert others of the incident/accident (triangles, flashlights, etc) to avoid anybody else being injured.

Two previous discussions with regards to this French law:

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/1337144/showPost.aspx

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/2433548/showPost.aspx

[YCCMB]

Agree with Benjamin. Also, I'm sure there are many of us who, albeit regrettable, would be at a loss as to what to do if, say, we came upon an injured person or an accident. Above the obvious action of calling for qualified assistance, I'd personally have little idea what to do which would help. I'm not medically qualified, or even a first-aider.

And where's the line drawn? If you see someone else has stopped to help (or you assume that's what you've seen) does that absolve you from any responsibility?

I'd like to believe I'd always try to be of help or assistance to someone in need or distress, but it's intimidating to worry that you're potentially forced into a position where you may end up doing more harm than good.

[NickP]

[quote user="Clair"][quote user="NickP"]Even if it is the law; it's a lot of tosh [...] Also the French legal system did nothing about the paparazzi who carried on taking pictures of a dying Princess Diana without giving her and her companions assistance.[/quote]

We've had this discussion before (here) and as I posted at the time, as long as the emergency services had been contacted, the duty to assist had been fulfilled.



Many an injury can be made a lot worse by untrained people wanting to help ((speaking as a first-aider).
Unless someone is trained in first-aid, the first things to do are first to alert the relevant emergency services, then to take steps to alert others of the incident/accident (triangles, flashlights, etc) to avoid anybody else being injured.


Two previous discussions with regards to this French law:
http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/1337144/showPost.aspx
http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/2433548/showPost.aspx


[/quote]

If your going to "quote" me please do not edit what I said. Thank you. [:)]

[Clair]

[quote user="NickP"]If your going to "quote" me please do not edit what I said. Thank you. [:)][/quote]

I won't now! [:D][:D]

[John Brown]

Thanks for all the comments. I did a search and didn't see it under Good Samaritan , so sorry to find its been covered before

What worried me was I think I would of acted in the same way as my friend in the same situation. "But of the grace etc"

Thanks anyway, its a bit clearer now

John

[Clair]

I might be on my own thinking that, but calling it "Good Samaritan Law" is a misnomer.

It brings to mind being expected to help out in situations where people require assistance, whereas the French law applies to situations where someone is in danger.

[NormanH]

I think the 'Good Samaritan' as a description of a law is American.

Yet another example of the misunderstandings which arise from assuming  a concept from one culture is going to be the same in another.

At a language level it happens in such 'faux amis' as 'eventually/éventuellement' or 'actually/actuellement', and on  a practical level in the misunderstanding of the difference between an 'overdraft' and a découvert' .

A similar assumption used to lie behind the failure to understand that the NHS idea of health care 'free at the point of delivery' and  based on a criterion of residence is very much a UK exception, and cannot be applied in Europe.

These misconceptions are nobody's fault, but we all need to be constantly aware of the possibility that in any particular case we might be making an unjustified assumption.

In struggling with another language or culture we cling to similarities thinking that the two things are identical when in fact there is different emphasis.

I certainly have done so in the past.

[idun]

That was why I didn't use the Good Samaritan expression, but the french one, I know where I stand with that. [:)]