One of the most significant ways powerful states likely avoid accountability is by outright rejecting the ICC’s legitimacy (Reuters, 2023). Powerful nations conceivably try to undermine the ICC to continue being beyond its jurisdiction. For instance, on August 2, 2002, the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2002 (“APSA”) became a law (Faulhaber, 2003, p. 537). This law was designed to prevent the participation of the United States in the ICC and to discourage other members of the international community from participating in the court or assisting in any way (Faulhaber, 2003, p. 537). Rather than engaging with the ICC to strengthen global accountability, the U.S delegitimizes it, portraying it as a biased institution incompatible with American legal standards (Faulhaber, 2003, p. 537). Furthermore, President Donald Trump, issued order 13928, to target and sanction non U.S staff of the ICC, after the ICC Appeals Chamber authorized the ICC prosecutor and her team to commence an investigation of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity U.S personnel in Afghanistan (Silingardi, 2021, p. 205). E.O 13928 declared that any attempts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any U.S personnel constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States (Silingardi, 2021, p. 208). This presumably labelled international security efforts a national security threat which depicts a complete dismissal of the court’s legitimacy. Moreover, the U.S taking active measures to punish ICC officials supposedly shows that the U.S is rejecting and undermining the ICC’s independence. Regrettably, the E.O now serves as a precedent of sovereign prerogative that non-state parties with horrendous records of atrocity crimes will gladly run with (Silingardi, 2021, p. 211).

Additionally, when ICC tried investigating Israel for alleged war crimes committed in Palestine, many countries including U.S and Canada opposed the ICC. For instance, when ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, former U.S President Joe Biden said the decision was outrageous and declared that “We will always stand with Israel” (Zvobgo, 2024). This shows that powerful states pick when to support the ICC, as they support the court when it investigates weaker countries such as Sudan, however, when it’s their allies such as Israel they reject ICC’s jurisdiction and question its legitimacy.