ANIMA LEGIS - this is what we call for short our project "Origin, Reception and Application of Modern Legal Terminology", based on the idea that language is the "soul" of law or - by analogy with the most ancient notions of the "soul-body" relationship: language is the "breath" through which laws speak. At a further level, the Latin legal terminology we are examining bears the most vivid imprint of unity in the development of continental law, insisting that there is a certain legal culture at the heart of European legal orders beyond the purely formal dimensions of rules duly adopted by an authorities.

In the line of thought sketched, we do not, of course, underestimate that 'The law is more than the sum of laws'. It is not confined to the imperative of observing norms, but carries the idea of justice (G. Radbruch) and requires respect also for the "spirit beyond the letter" , for as Article 20(3) of the German Basic Law says: "the administration of justice is bound by law and justice". At the same time, the great spirit - i.e. the basic principles of certainty, justice and guarantee of rights - cannot find expression if the laws are not precise and clear, consistent in their wording and based on the right balance between definiteness in favour of strict enforcement and indefiniteness giving room for reasonable discretion.

Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that the "soul" of the laws becomes a conduit for the "spirit" of the law where good legal expression is present - not as an empty form, but as a construction based on a high legal culture. For the reason stated, the development and teaching of the language of law can be seen not just as a key but as a contribution owed by legal education to an effectively functioning and just legal system.

The language of law is the living link between the historical evolution of legal phenomena and their understanding and development today. The genetic links between legal history and contemporary legal terminology are in turn a convenient basis for introducing law students to the sciences they study. The correct use of legal language is a topical problem for practical lawmaking and law enforcement, which - in the conditions of overregulation and hectic legislation - lose their terminological clarity and with it their effectiveness. Legal language - from a particularly important practical point of view - is also the necessary key, both for the recapitulation of foreign legislation and for the correct application at home of international and European law, which are often "lost" in the translation of specific acts, but also in the application of different models of legal thinking with their own terminological matrices.