Introduction. On February 6, 2023, the Federal Law “On Probation in the Russian Federation” 10-FZ was adopted. The law is aimed at the effective inclusion of persons subject to criminal penalties into a law-abiding society, as well as at reducing the level of recidivism in the country. With the help of the probation instrument, involving a large number of subjects in the sphere of resocialization work with persons leading a criminal lifestyle and subject to criminal punishment, the legislator believes in achieving the goals of punishment: restoring social justice, correcting convicts and preventing the commission of crimes. Theoretical analysis. While not being a full source of penal law, the law on probation, at the same time, provides the prerequisites for expanding the subject of this branch of law and outlines further directions for the development of the science of the same name. The law provides for executive, penitentiary and post-penitentiary probation; all these types should be carried out on the basis of individual resocialization programs. However, a number of issues require resolution; these include the relationship between the goals of punishment and the goals of probation, as well as identification of the legal statuses of participants in probation relations. Empirical analysis. The legal, organizational, and social aspects of the functioning of the probation system in Russia are analyzed, including interaction with various participants, effectiveness of measures for resocialization and social adaptation of convicts. The use of the concepts of social adaptation, resocialization and social rehabilitation in the law causes difficulties in understanding and can create problems in its implementation. It is proposed to develop detailed regulations on the part of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Federal Penitentiary Service to better implement the powers of probation subjects. Results. The positive direction of the law is beyond doubt, but the legal nature of probation requires further reflection. Its legislative definition resembles criminological prevention, but at the same time it is not such. Therefore, in conclusion, proposals are formulated to improve the legal and organizational components of probation in Russia.