Annotation: The scientific article examines and analyzes the system of punishments that exists in the countries of Europe and compares the legal characterization of punishment in the form of imprisonment in Ukraine and foreign most successful countries. Proposals have been made to improve the system of punishment of Ukraine and certain types of punishment provided for by the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the basis of the analysis of penal systems under the criminal codes of some countries of the European Union. Thus, on the example of the Swiss Criminal Code, it is possible to trace the similarity with the penal code of Ukraine, since in them all penalties are divided into basic and additional, as well as penalties that can be applied - to basic or additional. Under the current French Criminal Code, crimes are punished depending on the gravity of such an act. In general, they can be divided into two groups: misdemeanors and "violations" for which certain types of punishments are provided. According to the Italian Penal Code, the penalties are divided into basic and additional. The death penalty in Italy was abolished in lieu of life imprisonment, as was the case in Ukraine. We have come to the conclusion that the penal system in Ukraine needs to be simplified in accordance with the laws of European countries and, in addition, needs to be investigated by criminologists, regarding the measures and types of punishment that are most influential in correcting a convicted person and ensuring that he or she is prevented from committing a crime in the future.