Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül stated yesterday that the ministry will take steps to update the judicial reform strategy and underlined that it is Ankara's priority to implement reforms that would increase the trust in the judiciary.

Speaking in a televised interview, Gül said that the human rights action plan was upgraded and added that judicial reform strategy will also be upgraded with the contributions from EU, non-governmental organizations and bars with the aim of increasing the trust in the judiciary.

Referring to the fourth meeting of the EU Reform Action Group (RAG) held in Ankara on Aug. 29, Gül said that Ankara's will to implement reforms regarding the issues within the framework of 23rd and 24th chapters was reiterated.

The RAG meeting was hosted by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and attended by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.

Gül underscored that the sides will come together again on Dec. 11 and will discuss the main issues in detail. He added that in 2019, there will be a trend in which the trust in the judiciary will be increased.

It was stressed in the press release of the RAG meeting that "the update of the new judicial reform strategy is planned to be completed by the end of 2018. The principles and assessments of the EU, the Council of Europe and other international organizations as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will be taken into consideration in the drafting process."

The statement further stressed, "The aim of the new strategy is to further enhance trust in the judiciary, improve access to the justice system, increase its effectiveness and provide better protection for the right to trial within a reasonable time."