TERMitLEX: a legal terminology knowledge base for translators, interpreters and beyond

The first terminology database of the University of Trieste – TERMit – dates back to 1996 and contains collections belonging to all sorts of specialised domains. This paper illustrates a project conducted by a team of linguists and lawyers at the Department of Legal, Language, Interpreting and Translation Studies. The aim of the project was to take TERMit more than a step forward, by developing a new terminological knowledge base, devoted exclusively to legal terminology. The project consisted in i) revising of TERMit’s template; ii) updating the existing terminological collections; and iii) disseminating of terminological data. The aim of our paper is to give a general overview of the project and to illustrate more in detail how the lawyers’ needs can influence the structure of a terminology database.