An attempt to identify the nature of the relationship between law and forgiveness in three stages is made in the article. At first, the anthropological presuppositions of forgiveness as universal requirements of memory are highlighted. Secondly, it is mentioned the geography of dilemmas which revolve around the forgiveness in the political and legal spheres. In particular, the problem of the unforgivable, the institutions of the period of prescription, amnesty and the grant of pardon, as well as the phenomenon of restorative justice are analyzed. Finally the value of forgiveness as a non-institutional horizon of law is established.