JUSTICE IN CRIMINAL LAW: MATERIAL OR IDEAL CATEGORY?

The article examines the criminal law principle of justice from the point of view of traditional philosophical thought, which assumes the division of the world into an ideal and material substance. As an example of the ideal substance of justice, the author suggests considering the moral world order, a particular manifestation of which should ideally be the constitutional system of a particular state. The material substance of justice, in the author's opinion, should be clearly refl ected in the norms of the criminal law. As a theoretical premise of the stated approach, the assumption is put forward that a person as a personal Creator and performer of law, passing through the idea of justice as a fundamental socio-philosophical, political and legal phenomenon, formulates the criminal law principle of justice. This approach plays an important methodological role in overcoming one-sided trends in the consideration of its nature and assumes its construction on the basis of a two-level structure that includes legislative and law enforcement elements. On the basis of the position put forward by the famous philosopher Thomas Aquinas on the requirements imposed on the law, analyzes the judicial practice and norms of the current criminal law for its compliance with the principle of justice. The thesis that its effective implementation is an indicator of the quality of the criminal law is substantiated.