In the article, the author notes that the introduction of modern approaches to the legal regulation of the judicial control mechanism into the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine of 2012 was one of the right ways to realize the right to a fair trial. It is noted that judicial control, along with other mechanisms of criminal procedure, also ensures the implementation of the rule of law, a qualitatively new approach to understanding the rights and freedoms of a person in criminal proceedings, and a humanistic approach to criminal proceedings. The author also notes that both practitioners and scholars have repeatedly addressed the issues of the concept of judicial control, its features, and correlation with other categories and concepts. And the research by comparing the concept of «judicial control» with the concepts of «justice» and «judicial defense» will make it possible to establish new features of judicial control in criminal proceedings in Ukraine. That is why the author set as the purpose of the study to establish the correlation between the concept of «judicial control» and the concepts of «justice» and «judicial defense» in the criminal procedure of Ukraine. The article analyzes the works of Ukrainian scholars who reveal both the above concepts and their correlation, and also uses the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The study concludes that judicial protection is an effective mechanism for guaranteeing rights and freedoms in criminal proceedings, and judicial control is a way of judicial protection. In the author’s opinion, it should be borne in mind that such control is exercised not only during the pre-trial investigation, but also during the judicial stages of criminal proceedings. The author concludes that justice and judicial control are separate functions in criminal proceedings. Their differences are related to the stages of criminal proceedings and their purpose and form of implementation. The subjective composition of the realization of justice and judicial control is not always different. Thus, in the case provided for in Part 3 of Article 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, a judge will exercise judicial control over non-appealable rulings of the investigating judge, as well as justice in the same criminal proceedings.