Samenvatting

Research on comprehensibility of the criminal process has focused on the verdict. However, much less studies have examined the comprehensibility of what is going on during court proceedings, in the eye of the laity. The focus of this article is on the comprehensibility of the linguistic usage of legal terms in court. Based on observations in the magistrates’ court, both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. Analysis shows an increase of comprehensibility when judges strictly follow the judicial procedure in court. Defendants do not always understand the legal terms and there appears to be a gap between the legal profession and the laity.