This special number of the Journal of African Law has a dual function. First, commemorates 40 years of continuous production of the only learned journal devoted exclusively to African law. And secondly, it is presented as a tribute to the signal achievement of Professor James Read of the School of Oriental and African Studies in devoting himself to the study and advancement of African law, both at the School and elsewhere. The two successes run in parallel. Often their lines intersect. Jim Read directly and indirectly has made an enormous contribution to the expansion of the notion of African law since those early days, an expansion which has fed back into the concerns and the range of materials which the contents list of the Journal now displays.