The work is devoted to the study of the role of humanism as a principle of criminal law. It is established that in a modern legal and social state, humanism should be considered not only as a means of achieving the desired result; placing it at the center of a person's social existence and his rights, humanism is the basic category of a progressive social structure and the goal of social development. In this capacity, humanism, along with such categories as justice and equality, represents an independent and self-valuable goal of social progress. As a result of the conducted research, the author comes to the conclusion that humanity, as a qualitative condition that modern society should strive for, in the field of criminal law is not the forgiveness of a criminal or the weakness of the state. At the same time, the appeal of law enforcement to humanistic ideals additionally legitimizes state coercion and reduces the likelihood of illegitimate violence.