Former justice minister Enver Surty said in an affidavit to the High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday he had tried to broker a deal between Cape Judge President John Hlophe and the Constitutional Court judges, SABC radio news reported.

Surty said the Judicial Services Commission's enquiry involving Justice Hlophe and the judges of the Constitutional Court was a matter of public concern with real implications for the credibility, respect and integrity of the judiciary.

Surty said he had taken steps to facilitate a settlement between Hlophe and the judges because he thought it was his duty to stop what he termed "this ugly confrontation".

Surty said it was because of the discussions that he had recused himself from the JSC hearings in which the Constitutional Court judges testified against Hlophe, the broadcaster reported.

Hlophe was put on special leave last year after he was accused of trying to influence a Constitutional Court decision on a matter involving President Jacob Zuma.

The judges lodged a complaint with the JSC. Its hearings went ahead without Hlophe last month after he said he had flu.

Hlophe believed the JSC was not properly constituted for this hearing.