Law, order and liberty: Essays in honour of Tony Mathews pays tribute to an academic and activist who has profoundly influenced South African law through his books and journal articles on democracy and human rights. Tony Mathews' compelling defence of the rule of law and his unremitting championing of the cause of human rights inspired a generation of law students and practitioners in the darkest days of apartheid. His untimely death just prior to the inception of constitutional democracy in South Africa deprived this nation of one of its most incisive legal minds. In honour of Mathews' rich intellectual legacy, Marita Carnelley and Shannon Hoctor have assembled contributions, principally focusing on administrative law and justice, from a number of eminent scholars – all of whom were influenced and encouraged by his work. As the chapters in this long-overdue book make abundantly clear, Mathews' principled and powerful critique of the apartheid laws that negated human rights, and eviscerated the legitimacy of the South African legal system, remains as a monument to both his moral courage and his legal brilliance. This tribute reminds us of the debt we owe to Mathews and rouses us to spiritedly defend the values that he upheld with such clarity and conviction.