The article examines the issue of the relationship between the principle of inevitability of criminal liability and exemption from criminal liability through the prism of the task of the criminal law — crime prevention. Analyzing doctrinal sources and statistical data, the author comes to the conclusion that when exempting from criminal liability due to the expiration of the prescription terms, the social danger of the person who committed the crime must be taken into account. In this connection, the author proposes to return to the institution of limitation the condition of interrupting the running of the prescription terms in the event of a new crime being committed, which will strengthen the preventive role of the institution of exemption from criminal liability.