We are delighted to introduce readers to this special issue on Indonesia. It involves a new framework for studying access to justice – moving away from bland concerns with quantitative enumeration towards a detailed ethnographic engagement which examines access issues in ways which affect people’s lives. The concern is not just with the distinction between law in theory and law in practice but with peoples’ perceptions and a plurality of ways in which legal and other mechanisms affect people. Furthermore, it provides a rich corpus of co-ordinated studies based in Indonesia, a major developing country jurisdiction. We would like to express our thanks to Dr. Jacqueline Vel both as a major contributor to the research represented in this issue and for her efforts as Guest Editor. The issue is of course explained in more detail in her Editorial.

The issue also includes a Review Forum of An-Na’im’s provocative work on Islam and the Secular State.

This issue marks a significant new beginning, the involvement of our Group of Student Editors in the journal. Their involvement greatly smoothed the task of editing an issue which largely involves the work of non-native English speakers. Special thanks go to Abou Jeng, Raza Saeed and Helen Kijo-Bisimba.

Finally, we would like to express our thanks to Sabrina Zheng, who commenced working on this issue as our managing editor and who has now left for China. Sabrina will be greatly missed for her enthusiasm, efficiency and tactful dealing with authors, reviewers and editors. Thanks are also due to Chikosa Silungwe who held the fort after Sabrina’s departure in January 2010 and who has himself now left for Malawi after completion of his PhD. Paul Trimmer deserves thanks for putting the issue online with skills which go beyond web production and towards editorial.

Abdul Paliwala