Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Dominican Republic

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 general failure-to-rescue offence. The 1884 Criminal Code (Napoleonic base), in force until August 2026, and the new Criminal Code (Law No. 74-25, enacted 2025) create no general duty to aid a stranger; liability for omission arises only from a position of guarantor (commission by omission). Law 74-25 mentions "omission of relief measures" only in an international-humanitarian-law context, and its Art. 157 punishes obstructing rescuers, not failing to rescue.
Scope of protection No general bystander obligation. Only persons in a position of guarantor (parents, caregivers, professionals with a duty of custody, or whoever created the risk) are liable for an omission.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

The Dominican Republic has no general failure-to-rescue offence. The 1884 Criminal Code, Napoleonic in inspiration and in force until August 2026, like the new Criminal Code (Law No. 74-25, enacted 2025), creates no general duty to aid a stranger: liability for omission arises only from a position of guarantor (parents, caregivers, professionals with a duty of custody, or whoever created the risk). Law 74-25 mentions "omission of relief measures" only in an international-humanitarian-law context, and its Article 157 punishes obstructing rescuers, not failing to rescue.

No duty to act, but every reason to

In the Dominican Republic, then, there is no general criminal obligation on the ordinary bystander: helping a person in danger is a choice, not a constraint. That is precisely what makes the choice valuable. The good-faith rescuer acts out of humanity, freely, and the gesture is all the more meaningful for it. Where the law does not command, it is conscience — and preparation — that decide whether a person in distress receives help in time.

Why training matters

In a cardiac arrest, the chances of survival drop by about 10% with every minute without resuscitation. In the Dominican Republic, where the law leaves rescue to each person's free decision, everything rests on the will and the ability of the bystander present. Training in CPR and first aid turns goodwill into real strength: knowing exactly what to do in the minutes when everything is decided. To freely choose to help, and to know how, may be the finest of commitments — the one that, one day, gives a father, a friend, a child back to those who love them.