In his review of the book, Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice by Steve Crawshaw, the Spectator magazine's Phillipe Sands states:
Double standards have existed since its foundation in 1945, with the most powerful nations determining who should be held accountable for war crimes.
Sands mentions a specific example of double standards:
The current challenge to the system concerns those who remain in office or have powerful allies. Lopsidedness rules, as is illustrated by two recent cases. In March 2023, an arrest warrant was issued in the name of Vladimir Putin for the crime against humanity of forcibly deporting children. Russia is not a party to the Statute of the ICC, yet the US Senate welcomed the ruling without dissent, supported by Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak. Fast forward 18 months and an arrest warrant was sought for the leader of another country that is not a party to the ICC Statute. When Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated in Gaza, Biden and Sunak changed their tone: ‘deeply unhelpful’ and ‘outrageous’, they complained.
The difference between the two cases? In one, the alleged perpetrator is not our friend; in the other he is. ‘Target Israel and we will target you,’ warned Senators McConnell, Rubio and Cruz, despite supporting ICC investigations of Russia and Putin. This blatant double standard, a characterisation of so many countries, is premised on international law and accountability being only for others.