CONCLUSIONS Recent scholarship in the field of civil liability and public health law identifies a trend towards a transition from a model purely grounded in fault to a hybrid model, which admits strict liability in cases involving a high degree of risk. From this perspective, the establishment assumes not merely a commercial role, but also a function as a public health agent, and the reinforcement of the duty of vigilance and the prevention of abusive alcohol consumption emerges as an instrument of public policy. Nevertheless, this trajectory has only just begun, and many further steps will be required before any potential liability may be imposed on suppliers for serving alcoholic beverages in excessive quantities to their clients. In summary, the following conclusions can be taken: Although Portuguese legislation does not expressly impose the refusal to serve alcoholic beverages to visibly intoxicated customers, the combined reading of the Consumer Protection Act, the Civil Code, and the principle of good faith suggests the existence of an implicit duty of protection; The refusal to supply alcoholic beverages, where there is an evident risk, may constitute civil liability, provided that the existence of a legal duty to act is recognised; Such a legal duty to act must be expressly established, and in the current state of affairs it is therefore difficult to sustain its existence; The subjectivity involved in assessing the state of intoxication creates evidentiary uncertainty, thereby requiring the adoption of objective criteria, grounded in operational protocols capable of reducing the margin of arbitrariness; The absence of explicit legislative treatment of this matter weakens risk prevention, making normative clarification desirable so as to transform this implicit obligation into an express legal duty; The establishment of causation remains the greatest legal obstacle in constructing the liability of suppliers for the excessive service of alcoholic beverages to their customers, since demonstrating that the harm directly resulted from the service provided demands a rigorous assessment, often complicated by the multiplicity of contributing factors; The concept of clearly creating or aggravating a foreseeable risk will always be extremely difficult to define with precision; Comparison with the North American model reveals that strict liability of suppliers may be effective in reducing social harms associated with alcohol consumption; 185 THE CIVIL LIABILITY OF BARS AND RESTAURANTS
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