The subject of the study is equality before the law and the court. The aim of the study is to develop a scientifically substantiated concept of equality before the law and the court in criminal proceedings. The hypothesis of the study proposes the possibility to emphasize an essential feature distinguishing theequality before the law and the court from similar but not identical phenomena and concepts. The definition of the concept of equality before the law and the court in the criminal proceedings reflecting the essence andcontent of the existing phenomenon is obtained based on the formal and logical method. The definition sought determines the concept as a principle of criminal procedure that obliges the state authorities to manage criminal proceedings without giving preference or discrimination to any participating individual or entity (group of individuals). The result obtained may become a basis for the further research on the essential aspects of the phenomenon of equality before the law and the court, namely in criminal proceedings, and may be used in academic subjects in teaching lawyers and in growing legal literacy of the population.