The article examines such a form of social responsibility of the state as the r ight to legal proceedings within a reasonable time and compensation for its violation. The problem under consideration is relevant for all modern legal systems, including the Russian one. Its resolution involves finding a balance of private and public interests in order to avoid abuse. The very concept of a reasonable period of legal proceedings presupposes an individual approach to the consideration of each compensation case. At the same time, the rule on a reasonable time works both ways, therefore, even with formal observance of procedural deadlines, the actual duration of the consideration of the case, taking into account its circumstances, may not meet the requirement of reasonableness. This is due to a special approach to calculating the total duration of legal proceedings for the purposes of the Federal Law “On Compensation for Violation of the Right to Legal Proceedings within a Reasonable Time or the Right to Execute a Judicial Act within a Reasonable time”.

The author follows the historical prerequisites for the emergence of the category of reasonable time for judicial proceedings in Russian legislation and identifies its legal nature as a mechanism that provides a balance between a quick and fair trial of a case. Based on the analysis of international standards and judicial practice, including the practice of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of the Russian Federation, criteria are proposed that should be used in assessing the timing of legal proceedings as reasonable or unreasonable. Special attention is paid to the issue of determining the total duration of legal proceedings, which is currently not fully regulated by law. The author's conclusions are based on the study and generalization of judicial legal positions in their impact on the disclosure of the content of the right to protection and access to justice. Compliance with reasonable deadlines is largely related to solving the problem of high workload for judges.