What is non-assistance to anyone in danger?

Verified 28 March 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Failure to assist a person in danger is failure to help someone who is in danger.

In order for there to be non-assistance to a person in danger, the following elements must be met:

  • The person in danger faces a grave and imminent dangerwhich threatens his bodily integrity or moral well-being (distress)
  • The witness is aware of this danger
  • The witness willfully refrains from intervening to prevent a crime or a offense either committed against the physical integrity of the victim, or the witness fails to assist the victim in distress or to alert the emergency services

The assistance provided to the victim must not expose the rescuer or anyone else to danger.

Example :

For example, in the event of a fire, not throwing oneself unprotected into the flames in an attempt to save a victim cannot be condemned. On the other hand, not alerting emergency services does.

Such forbearance is punishable by law, when the conditions are met.

The alleged perpetrator may be prosecuted, both criminally and civilly.

In the event of a criminal conviction, the victim may obtain compensation.

The obligation to provide assistance to a person in danger takes precedence over compliance with professional secrecy.

Violation of professional secrecy is not punishable when a health professional informs the public prosecutor, with the consent of the victim, of physical, sexual or psychological violence inflicted on him.

The same applies to any professional who alerts the judicial, medical or administrative authorities to ill-treatment of a minor or a person unable to protect himself.

Example :

A teacher who denounces a pedophilia situation to protect a student

On the spot

You can go to a police station or a gendarme brigade of your choice.

Who shall I contact

The police or gendarmerie refer the complaint to the public prosecutor.

If the police or gendarmerie refuse to take your domestic violence complaint, you can alert the competent control authorities.

Submit online to the Inspectorate General of the National Police

Contact the Inspectorate General of the National Gendarmerie online

By mail

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Who shall I contact

Your mail should include the following:

  • Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
  • Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.

You can use the following mail template:

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.

You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.

In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.

The presence of a lawyer is not mandatory for the lodging of a complaint and throughout the procedure until the trial before the correctional court. However, you can get legal assistance if you wish.

The victim may file a complaint himself, but people who witness the incident may also report it to the law enforcement authorities or the public prosecutor.

But if the victim has died or if she is not in a position to file a complaint herself, her beneficiaries can do so.

In all cases, the complaint must be filed within 6 years from the date of the facts.

Failure to assist a person in danger is a offense.

The person convicted of the offense infringement may be penalized, both criminally and civilly.

Criminal sanctions

General case
Principal penalty

The person guilty of non-assistance to a person may be sentenced to up to 5 years of imprisonment and €75,000 of fine.

Additional penalties

A person found guilty of failing to assist a person in danger may also be sentenced to a civil, civil and family rights ban in addition to the prison term or a fine.

The prohibition of civil, civil and family rights may relate to one or more of the following rights:

  • Right to vote
  • Right to stand as a candidate
  • The right to act as a judge, to be an expert before a court, to represent or assist a party before a court
  • Right to testify in court (except to make simple statements)
  • Right to be guardian or curator (except for her own children, with the permission of the guardianship judge and the family council)

The prohibition of civil, civil and family rights may be imposed for a maximum period of five years.

The ban on the right to vote and the right to stand as a candidate results in a ban or incapacity to hold public office.

Minor victim
Principal penalties

A person found guilty of failing to assist a person in danger may be sentenced to up to 5 years of imprisonment and €100,000 of fine.

If the victim is a child under 15 years of age, a person found guilty of failing to assist a person in danger may be sentenced to up to 7 years of imprisonment and €100,000 of fine.

Additional penalties

A person found guilty of failing to assist a person in danger may also be sentenced to a civil, civil and family rights ban in addition to the prison term or a fine.

The prohibition of civil, civil and family rights may relate to one or more of the following rights:

  • Right to vote
  • Right to stand as a candidate
  • The right to act as a judge, to be an expert before a court, to represent or assist a party before a court
  • Right to testify in court (except to make simple statements)
  • Right to be guardian or curator (except for her own children, with the permission of the guardianship judge and the family council)

The prohibition of civil, civil and family rights may be imposed for a maximum period of five years.

The ban on the right to vote and the right to stand as a candidate results in a ban or incapacity to hold public office.

Civil sanctions

The person guilty of non-assistance to a person may be ordered to compensate the victim or his successors in title.

For that, his failure to come to the rescue caused them harm.

To claim damages in the event of damage, the victim or his successors in title must to be a civil party before the criminal judge.