Access to information Article 34 para. (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova enshrines the right of the person to access any information of public interest. The "threshold criteria" for the right of access to information held by state authorities were set out by the ECtHR in the case of Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v. Hungary [MC], §158-170, of 8 November 2016, on the establishment of the scope of the right of access to information, as part of the right to free expression95. According to their competences, public authorities are obliged to ensure the correct information of citizens on public affairs and matters of personal interest. The right of access to any information concerns the manner, means and conditions under which the administration of state affairs is carried out and the right to disseminate such information, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova notes in its decision no. 19 of June 22, 2015. The mentioned decision also states that the right to information is to request information from public authorities and institutions. This right has two aspects: the right to request and the right to receive information. To this end, any public authority and / or institution is obliged to provide the requested information, as long as there is no legitimate reason to refuse such requests. In 2019, the state of affairs in the Republic of Moldova regarding access to information has not improved. The legal framework in the field has not been completed or modified, in order to comply with European standards and norms96, the authorities have continued to refuse to provide information requested by the representatives of the press and civil society on the grounds of personal data protection, state secrecy, to treat requests for information as petitions, which implies a different procedure and terms of examination, including for this reason requests for information in electronic version are not accepted because they do not have the applicant's signature. The People's Advocate also attests to the existence of problems related to the functionality of the legal framework. This is because the provisions of the current legislation (the sanctions provided in Article 71 of the Contravention Code for violating the legislation on access to 95 Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v. Hungary (application no. 18030/11), Judgment of the Grand Chamber of 8 November 2016, §§ 157-180. The case concerned the right of access to information and, more specifically, the right of access to information held by the state. The "threshold criteria" for the right of access to information held by the State authorities set out by the ECtHR are: a) The purpose of the request for information, (b) The nature of the information requested, (c) The role of the complainant; (d) Existence and availability of information. 96 Bringing in compliance with European standards Law no. 133/2011 on the protection of personal data, of Law no. 171/1994 on trade secret, of Law no. 245/2008 on the state secret. 56