This special volume stems from a symposium 'Granitic Systems - State of the Art and Future Avenues' that was held at the Department of Geology, University of Helsinki to mark the retirement of Professor Ilmari Haapala. The twenty articles in the volume cover a wide range of granite-related topics and focus on three general themes: tectonics and source regions, petrologic processes, and fractionated granites and pegmatites. Both original papers and reviews are included, and the volume will be acknowledged by anyone with a background in Earth Sciences ad a flavor for granitoid rocks.