Judges will "hopefully" have to answer to a judicial code of conduct by the end of April, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Enver Surty said on Monday.

Surty, speaking to a meeting of the Law Society of SA in Cape Town, said he hoped to have the code published before the national and provincial elections on 22 April.

"Hopefully within my term we will have a judicial code of conduct published.

"All judicial officers will be subjected to this. Judges have previously said they do not require a code of conduct. But the reality is that codes are necessary. Everyone needs them, from lawyers to judges."

Surty called on the society to help him improve access to justice for the poor.

"Why is it that a woman from Khayelitsha should have to travel to Cape Town to settle a dispute? There needs to be greater access to justice for all."

Surty praised the increase in the use of indigenous languages in South African courts.

He said one of the major challenges facing his department was the training of judicial officers.