The subject of this paper is a historical representation of the legal institute of torture in the period from antiquity to the Enlightenment. The paper is limited to the display of torture and the reasons behind its use in continental Europe. In the long historical period from antiquity to the Enlightenment torture is legal and used as a means of evidentiary procedure in criminal proceedings. Legal systems often do not choose the means in an effort to provide adequate evidence in court proceedings. And not just in the old and the Middle Ages. Contemporary legal discussions are not deprived of moral dilemmas – whether the goal justifies the means. The assumption is that a man and his dignity have the highest value and that in the world there is no value that one would give greater importance against the man's dignity. However, in practice, happens to be that a man who had previously had a purpose (in itself) very easily is sacrificed for the sake of some other material or ideological values. Access to research is determined by the historical method. When creating paper also were used the following scientific methods: conceptual analysis, description, classification, comparison, observation, inductive and deductive, analysis and synthesis, proving and refutation method. The main premise of this paper is that the legal institute of torture throughout history played an important role in the court proceedings. It was a legitimate means of justice in Europe since ancient times to the Enlightenment. But with time matured an opinion that its application is inadmissible because it violates one of the foundations of all human rights, i.e., it makes a rough violation of human dignity. Today, when out of fear from terrorist threats reappear idea of justification of its application it is important to provide a historical survey of this institute in the hope that it will serve the design of the universal point of view of torture as legally and morally unacceptable and unjustifiable method.