Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG)
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) has operated since 1990 as Israel's primary watchdog organisation for government accountability, anti-corruption, and rule of law. Its approach combines strategic litigation, Supreme Court petitions, investigative research, and civic education — holding the Israeli government accountable to its own stated legal and democratic standards.
MQG has been a petitioner in landmark Supreme Court cases on corruption, conflicts of interest, government transparency, and executive overreach. It coordinates a network of lawyers, researchers, and volunteers and runs civic education programmes in schools and youth organisations on democratic values and anti-corruption.
During the 2023 judicial reform crisis — a government push to curtail the Supreme Court's authority to review executive action — MQG was one of the leading civil society organisations challenging the reforms through the courts and through public advocacy. The organisation's position was that the reforms would remove key accountability mechanisms from Israeli democratic governance without replacement.
Work areas
- Strategic litigation — Supreme Court petitions on government accountability and corruption
- Corruption investigation — research and documentation of conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds
- Judicial independence — advocacy for maintaining constitutional checks on executive power
- Civic education — school programmes on democratic governance and anti-corruption
Links
- Website: mqg.org.il/en
See also
History
- 1990-03-01 Founded as the Movement for Quality Government in Israel to combat corruption and promote transparencyFounding of the organisation
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2024-01-01
Won the landmark "Reasonableness Case," striking down the government's Basic Law amendment eliminating judicial review of ministerial decisionsFirst-ever Israeli Supreme Court invalidation of a Basic Law amendment
Sourcing: High
The most important of the two judgments is the Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. the Knesset judgment issued on Jan. 1 on the reasonableness constitutional amendment.
MQG was the named petitioner. An 8-of-15-justice majority of Israel's High Court of Justice struck down the amendment (passed 26 July 2023) that had eliminated judicial review of the "patently unreasonable" doctrine for ministerial-level executive decisions — the first time Israel's Supreme Court had ever struck down a Basic Law amendment.
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