This law -- which takes its name from a parable in the Bible -- can be seen in various forms across the world.

 

In the United States, for example, all 50 states and the District of Columbia employ it in various ways. The details or acts vary by jurisdiction, including who is protected from liability and under what circumstances. The country's Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996 was created to encourage people to donate food to non-profit organizations with limited liability. In Canada, good Samaritan acts fall under provincial jurisdiction. In Quebec, a civil law jurisdiction, a person is said to have a general duty to respond to anyone whose life is in peril -- either personally or calling for aid -- by giving him the necessary and immediate physical assistance. In Germany, everybody must "render assistance during accidents, common danger or an emergency", if necessary. Refusing to assist can be punished with a one-year prison sentence. However, should an attempt at first aid prove unsuccessful or actually harmful, they would not be prosecuted.