I hear the term "illegitimate bounty" thrown around a lot. Someone disagrees with the transgression or perceived transgression that lead to the bounty, and they say the whole thing is illegitimate.

A bounty is a promise of payment for the capture of someone's pearl. It doesn't matter what they did. You can put a bounty up for literally anything, but whether or not anyone pursues said bounty is up to their own discretion.

Complaining that a bounty is illegitimate doesn't mean anything. If someone truly believes that you have wronged them in some way, they are well within their right to put a bounty on your head. But even if they don't believe you've actually done anything wrong they are still quite capable of putting a bounty on you.

Someone who thinks the bounty is unjustified and someone who knows darn well that they've done something wrong are both ultimately at the mercy of a bounty hunter. They'll both defend themselves in the same way, both attempt to avoid capture, and both complain about being pearled on the sub. The only thing that matters is the willingness of a bounty hunter to carry out the bounty, and their ability to actually capture someone.