“Discretion, like the hole in a doughnut, does not exist except as an area left open by a surrounding belt of restriction.”

— Ronald Dworkin, book Taking Rights Seriously

Taking Rights Seriously (1978), p. 31
Context: Discretion, like the hole in a doughnut, does not exist except as an area left open by a surrounding belt of restriction. It is therefore a relative concept. It always makes sense to ask, "Discretion under which standards?" or "Discretion as to which authority?"

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Ronald Dworkin5

American legal philosopher 1931–2013

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