Readers of the Journal of African Law will be sad to learn of the death of Professor Antony Allott on 3 June 2002. His immense contribution to the study of the laws in Africa has been acknowledged in the obituaries that have been published and he will long be remembered throughout the world, and particularly within Africa, as a writer, teacher, examiner and consultant in this field of law. At the Journal we feel a special sense of loss. Tony founded the Journal in 1957 at a time when “the winds of change” were blowing across Africa and he remained one of the editors until 1983. Thereafter he became a Consulting Editor and remained a constant source of support and advice to the Editorial Board. When he retired from SOAS, we published a special commemorative volume in his honour (1987) to which many of his former colleagues and students contributed. The volume contained a bibliography of his work as well as a tribute by Jim Read which examined the many and diverse topics which preoccupied Tony over a long and productive career.