The findings of the JSC's disciplinary committee would not undo the damage which had been caused by the saga, council chairman Jeremy Muller said in a statement.

However, the decision had at least brought to a conclusion a process which, because of its drawn-out nature, could "only have aggravated the problem".

"It is in this context that the Cape Bar welcomes the fact that the JSC has at last arrived at a decision," he said.

"The long process of restoring the public's faith in the judiciary and repairing the inevitable divisions and tensions which these unfortunate events have engendered can at least now commence."

The JSC said last week it would not proceed with an investigation against Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe for gross misconduct.

This followed a complaint by two Constitutional Court judges last May that he approached them about the now abandoned corruption case against Jacob Zuma, before he became president.

Although the commission criticised Hlophe for raising pending judgments in the Zuma affair with the judges, it said it had failed to find evidence that he had tried to influence them.