Igor Mozolevsky, R (on the application of) v The County Court at Newcastle Upon Tyne

Facts

The claimant, who represented himself, was sued by Northumbrian Water Ltd in proceedings begun at some point in late 2024 through the Money Claim Online service and transferred to the County Court at Newcastle upon Tyne. By an order sealed on 10 April 2025 the claim was allocated to the Small Claims Track and a hearing on 11 June 2025 was listed as a conciliation appointment / Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE). Paragraph 3 of that order made clear that the judge conducting the ENE would not be the judge who conducted the final hearing. The ENE was conducted by District Judge Searl, who later that day gave judgment for the interested party and ordered the claimant to pay £288.54. On 23 June 2025 the claimant sought permission to appeal, arguing that the District Judge was precluded from making a final order and that Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights had been breached. His Honour Judge Freedman asked the District Judge for comments, and she reported on the ENE; the redacted reply was marked as covered by ENE privilege. On 4 July 2025 the Circuit Judge refused permission, relying on an asserted admission of the debt, and certified the application as totally without merit. The claimant brought judicial review, with permission granted by His Honour Judge Saffman sitting as a Judge of the High Court in retirement. The County Court made no submissions and the interested party did not participate.