References: Law No. 837-XIII of May 17, 1996, on Public Associations; Law No.581-XIV of July 30, 1999, on Foundations; Law No.521  XIII of June 7, 1995 ,n Philanthropy and Sponsorship.

References: Law on Public Associations: The NGOs activity can be checked by fiscal authorities; other entities authorized to perform controls of the NGOs work are the prosecutors office and the local authority i that has registered the organization. According to article 42 of the Law on Public Associations, other interferences in the NGOs activity are forbidden.

Peer Review Comments: Generally, the funding for NGOs comes in the form of: a) Entry fees and and membership dues. b) Donations and grants. c) Revenues from public lectures, exhibitions, lotteries, sporting events, other kind of events. d) Revenues from economic activity. e) Income from legal civil acts. f) Income from external economic activity. g) Aid-in-kind and cash from sponsors and philanthropists, in compliance with the Law on Philanthropy and Sponsorship. h) Other cash not prohibited by law.

The law does not make distinctions between foreign or domestic sources and does not specify any activity or conditions of the funding.

References: Anti-corruption / good governance CSOs may form coalitions striving for public-benefit goals. On the basis of their statutory commitments, they may undersign various kinds of ethnical codes, which may involve specific provisions related to the disclosure or undisclosure of sources of funding in undertaking their obligations. Legislation does not explicitely stipulate a legal obligation to disclose CSOs' sources of funding. Prosecution may undertake a legality control over the activities performed by the CSOs and, in case they do not corresponde to the founding charter of the respectiev associations, this can draw administrative, material, disciplinary, criminal responsibility (art.42-43), according to the Law on Public Associations.

Peer Review Comments: As a matter of fact, all financial operations - incoming and outcoming money - are performed via bank accounts. Therefore they can be easily tracked. There is no specific legal provision that obliges NGOs to disclose their sources to the public or the authorities.

Peer Review Comments: Foundations and associations of public utilities are requested, by law, to declare their funding sources, but not other CSOs. However, most CSOs state they will respect transparency and ensure access to information, so, in theory, they should be willing to make public this sort of information. In practice, few are open and transparent.

References: NGO Sustainability Index in Moldova (2005, 2006)

Peer Review Comments: I have not heard of impediments for new anti-corruption/good governance associations. However, I have seen media reports about barriers for constitutions of political parties and social-political movements that have declared the struggle against government corruption as their primary goal or if their leaders are well-known anti-corruption voices. The European Action Movement is just one example (see an interview with leader Anatol Petrenco for an investigative newspaper report at [ LINK ]).

Peer Review Comments: Formal interaction is often the main barrier for the activities undertaken by CSOs. Given this situation, the results are merely the same as in the cases when direct or visible barriers are being used.

Peer Review Comments: The informal barriers for Moldovan NGOs still remain high, partly reflecting the overall nature of Moldova's highly regulated economy. The labor code, and especially access to information, as well as the organization of government structures, which include a voice from civil society, remain very constraining on CSR oversight as we understand it in the EU and the USA.

References: Lilia Carasciuc, director, Transparency - Moldova Mihai Godea, director, Contact Centre

Peer Review Comments: There is a problem with access to information in Moldova. As a journalist, I would like to add a few more references.

Peer Review Comments: There are many reasons why NGOs (CSOs) do not actively participate in the policymaking process, namely lack of funding, organizational capacity and skills. Moreover, the party structure in Moldova is not designed to accommodate these interests in the same way as in other countries and parlamentarians do not face the same kinds of pressures from NGOs that they face in the West. Even TI-Moldova, with its international clout, doesn't have access like it does in other countries.

References: Carasciuc Lilia, director, Transparency - Moldova Mihai Godea, director, Contactg Centre Alina Radu, Ziarul de Garda Newspaper Freedom House Reports (2003, 2004,.2005, 2006) on Moldova in Nations in Transit

Peer Review Comments: The government uses rather sophisticated tools to keep CSOs at a distance. It creates its own GONGs to undermine the credibility of other organizations in the field or it makes sure it has "its people" in various networks, alliances, or coalitions in order to ensure a certain level of criticism.

Peer Review Comments: An additional source is the media report, "Investigative Journalists Won Lawsuit Against Rezina Town Hall," on the website of the Journalistic Investigations Center: [ LINK ]

References: Corruption in Moldova: Facts, Analysis, Proposals; Transparency International - Moldova (www.transparency.md/Docs.cor_mol.ro.pdf) www.realitatea.net - Arest la PRO TV Chisinau - Sept. 10, 2006

Peer Review Comments: I just want to clarify the idea: some activists experienced preliminary/temporary imprisonment, but no one was condemned.

Peer Review Comments: Investigative journalists were repeatedly issued "warnings," such as retention or filing civil actions, if they did not reconsider giving up certain subjects.

References: 2006 Annual Report of the Centre for Independent Journalism on the Freedom of Expression and Information in the Republic of Moldova (www.ijc.md);

www.investigatii.md/index - Declaration of the mass media organization on cases of intimidations of mass media activists by the employees of the Center for Combating Crime and Corruption (June 19, 2006);

Interview with Petru Macovei, Association of the Independent Press - July 20, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Independent journalists usually deal with investigative reporting and are generally critical of government. Intimidation against them is common, but in the past year, I know of no evidence that any of them suffered from physical assault because of a particular corruption investigation or in connection with a corruption-related article. Even the researcher did not mention above any "physical harm." Instead, he/she referred to "intimidation." The latest such attack happened, however, on Alina Anghel from Timpul newspaper, in June 2004.

See [ LINK ], [ LINK ], [ LINK ], [ LINK ].

Peer Review Comments: In June 2004, the investigative reporter at the opposition's Timpul newspaper, Alina Anghel, was attacked outside her home by two assailants armed with a metal bar. She was hospitalized with a concussion and broken arm. Alina had written a series of investigative pieces on corruption among public servants.

References: Annual reports of the Centre for Independent Journalism (www.ijc.md);

The Association of Independent Press: No Killed Journalists in Moldova- (www.api.md)

References: Law on Trade Unions (NO.1129-XIV of 07.07.2000) Constitution of the RM (art42) - 'right to establish and join trade unions'

References: Igor Munteanu 'Trade Unions in Moldova: on the Cusp of Change or Collapse', edited and published in SEER (South East Europe Review for Labor and Social Affairs), Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden- Baden, Volume 3, No.2, July, 2000

Peer Review Comments: There were attempts, however, from the government to control trade unions or to encourage laborers to join a union that is "cooperating" with the authorities.

Peer Review Comments: Trade unions still suffer in terms of credibility and the Soviet-era perception that they are governmental tools to influence and organize people.

Peer Review Comments: I think this indicator is trying to measure the extent to which businesses are able to engage in corruption and state capture as well as the pressure that labor unions bring to prevent this. Moldova, as a post-Soviet economy, has (overly) strong rules on business. Labor does not - and is not expected to - exercise the same level of oversight as it does in France or Italy, for example.