Western diplomats and the UN rights chief urged President Kais Saied on Tuesday to restore a key judicial watchdog, warning that scrapping it threatens the rule of law.

Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) on Sunday, months after sacking the government and seizing wide-reaching powers in the North African country, often lauded as the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab revolts.

“This has been a big step in the wrong direction,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement, adding that the move “is in clear violation of Tunisia’s obligations under international human rights law".

Earlier on Saturday, Saied said "the Superior Council of the Judiciary is considered, from now on, an institution belonging to the past ... a decree will be published on the matter." 

The president pointed to suspected corruption by many local magistrates and their failures in managing several major cases, especially those involving political assassinations.