Abstract Especially for non-experts, translating legal texts is a complicated and multifaceted process, demanding much linguistic and technical competence from translators. Legal systems differ from one another, and each one has a specific set of norms, especially reflected at the lexical level – that is, in terminology. Understanding two legal systems is not easy, even for experts; of course, it is even more difficult for translators, who are usually not legal experts. This article focuses on how to quickly and transparently provide translators with some (basic) technical knowledge using ontologies, which in recent years have found considerable application in synthesizing and visualizing knowledge.