Abstract: The subject of study is some significant historical stages of the formation and development of the institution of criminal procedure deadlines. The aim is to identify the national tradition of regulating deadlines and mechanisms for speeding up criminal procedures. The object of the study was the criminal procedure norms of different periods of time of the development of legislation in Russia, domestic judicial practice and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in the context of resolving the issue of the need for the existence of a requirement for the reasonableness of the terms of criminal proceedings in the system of traditional Russian principles. The research is based on general scientific and private scientific methods of cognition, which made it possible to analyze sources on the chosen topic and synthesize knowledge about the evolution of the terms of criminal proceedings. The method of comparative historical jurisprudence allowed us to formulate a conclusion about the adherence to the legislative tradition of separating principles-ideas and specific rules for the preliminary investigation and judicial review of criminal cases. It is concluded that the requirement of the reasonableness of the timing of criminal proceedings in the historical context was completely justified and addressed to the preliminary investigation authorities, as a rule, on immediate procedural activity. Changing the status of this rule to a principle did not significantly change law enforcement activities, but introduced an imbalance in the systematic approach to regulating criminal procedural relations. The measures to speed up the judicial review mentioned in the provisions of Article 6.1 of the CPC of the Russian Federation and the corresponding resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation are of a mixed nature. The directives of the President of the Court regarding measures to speed up the proceedings contradict the independence of judges and violate the principle of legality. In this regard, a proposal was made to exclude this requirement from the system of principles, followed by the addition of the general conditions of preliminary investigation and judicial proceedings.