Application of a knowledge-based ontology of the legal domain in collaborative workspaces

Legal ontologies are generalised conceptual models of specific parts of the legal domain. They provide stable foundations for knowledge representation. The ontology presented in this paper is based on an analysis of the relation between the legal domain and knowledge about that domain. It is explained how knowledge in the legal domain can be analysed in terms of three dimensions (acquisition, object and justification), and how these dimensions can be employed in alternative designs for collaborative workspaces.