Turkey's Justice Ministry said it had reached an agreement with a state board over the annual appointment of judges and prosecutors, ending a deadlock that threatened to paralyse the judiciary in the EU candidate.

Pro-government media had blamed the delay on an attempt by secularist members of the board to remove judges and prosecutors involved in a high-profile coup plot case in which senior military officers are facing trial.

After an eight-hour meeting, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which names magistrates, agreed on the appointment of 1,500 judges and prosecutors, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told reporters late on Monday.

Turkey's judiciary has traditionally been a bastion of the secularist elite, which suspects the ruling AK Party of having a hidden plan to undermine the country's secular principles. The AK Party, which has roots in political Islam, denies this.

Two retired Turkish generals went on trial last week for their links to the shadowy right-wing group which prosecutors say was plotting a campaign of bombings and assassinations to trigger a coup against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

The AK Party and the secularist establishment are at loggerheads over the direction of the predominantly Muslim but officially secular country.