CEDR announces with profound sadness the death of its Founder President and first Chief Executive, Dr Karl Mackie CBE, one of the world's foremost pioneers of commercial mediation and an influential figure in the development of alternative dispute resolution over the past four decades.
Karl Mackie co-founded the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in 1990 alongside Eileen Carroll KC (Hon) at a time when mediation was little understood within the British legal system. Together they transformed what was then an emerging idea into a respected profession and built CEDR into one of the world's leading dispute resolution organisations. Their vision has influenced courts, governments, businesses and mediators across every continent.
For more than thirty years Karl combined an outstanding practice as one of the world's leading commercial mediators with visionary leadership, institution building, teaching and writing. Under his leadership, CEDR trained more than 10,000 mediators worldwide, established international partnerships across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and became one of the most respected voices in the global development of dispute resolution.
As Chief Executive of CEDR for over two decades, Karl helped establish professional qualifications for mediators, championed civil justice reform and promoted mediation across the world. Together with Eileen Carroll KC (Hon), he developed training programmes that became internationally recognised benchmarks for mediator accreditation. Thousands of today's leading mediators trace their professional development directly to the systems, philosophy and standards that CEDR helped create.
Karl oversaw the development of CEDR as a Dispute Resolution Centre and helped lead significant charitable initiatives that led to significant changes such as the CEDR International Commission into Settlement Windows in Arbitration and the CEDR Enquiry into Public Inquiries.
Karl was also a distinguished author and thinker. With Eileen Carroll he co-authored International Mediation: Breaking Business Deadlock and later The Mediator's Tale: The CEDR Story of Better Conflicts, reflecting their shared belief that mediation represented not merely another legal process but a fundamentally better way of understanding and resolving human conflict.
Before joining CEDR Karl had been an academic, business physiologist and barrister. His leadership extended into public service through numerous appointments, including Vice-Chair of the Civil Mediation Council, Chief Adjudicator of Ofsted's Independent Complaints Adjudication Service and advisory roles with universities and international organisations. He was named among The Lawyer's 100 most influential lawyers in the United Kingdom, while The Times newspaper famously dubbed him "Mr Mediation."
Throughout his career Karl mediated some of the most complex commercial, governmental and international disputes of his generation, including shareholder disputes, infrastructure projects, public-sector conflicts and international matters involving governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations. His distinctive combination of legal expertise, occupational psychology and negotiation theory enabled him to unlock disputes that many believed impossible to resolve. Whilst the vast majority of his cases were confidential, Karl mediated many cases of international importance, an example of which was his work as a mediator for the OECD for major environmental disputes between governments, industry and NGOs. He also had one of the highest levels of security clearance in the UK enabling him to mediate in top-secret matters.
Chambers and Partners consistently ranked him among the leading commercial mediators in the United Kingdom, describing him as a "pre-eminent mediator across the UK and Europe." Chambers also observed that he "handles complex commercial mediations in a seamless way" and was "clearly at the top of his game, both intellectually and in respect of the discipline of mediation." Legal 500 described him as "the master" of the psychological nuances of mediation, praising his ability to understand "the tensions and dynamics of a dispute" and his skill in "reading the personalities present and working with them to engineer a settlement."
Karl's contribution was recognised nationally when he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to mediation, the first time that services to mediation had been recognised in this way.
Karl and Eileen eventually went on to marry. Karl leaves behind Eileen, a son and daughter Alan and Karen, from his first marriage, who also have children, and a stepdaughter, Jennifer.
Dr Karl Mackie CBE leaves an extraordinary legacy as a mediator, teacher, author, leader and pioneer. His vision transformed dispute resolution for generations, and his influence will continue to be felt wherever people seek better ways to resolve conflict.
"Karl was one of those rare people who helped define an entire profession. His vision, courage and determination transformed mediation from an unfamiliar concept into a mainstream means of resolving conflict that has benefited countless individuals, organisations and communities around the world.
He and Eileen were there at the very beginning — championing mediation across the profession from the early 1990s, and Karl led the organisation for many years as it grew from two members of staff working out of a borrowed room at Eileen’s Law Firm to an internationally recognised voice for mediation.
Our thoughts are with Eileen, their family, and all those who are close to Karl at this time.”
"Karl's influence reached every corner of the international mediation community. Wherever CEDR works today, we continue to encounter mediators, judges, lawyers and policymakers whose careers were shaped by his teaching, his writing or his personal encouragement.
He believed passionately that mediation could improve not only legal systems but relationships, organisations and society itself. His commitment to excellence was matched by his kindness and his willingness to invest time in key worthwhile causes. He never stopped asking how mediation could evolve, and he challenged all of us to think more deeply about conflict and how people resolve it.”