Final answer:
The International Court of Justice deals with disputes between countries, potentially including cases of human rights abuses involving state actors. It does not have jurisdiction over cases involving private citizens, which suggests it is primarily concerned with state-level disputes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), often referred to as the World Court, primarily handles cases that fall under the following categories:
- Cases involving disputes between countries (States) - These are the core kinds of cases that come before the ICJ. The court addresses issues like territorial disputes, environmental damage, maritime boundaries, and diplomatic relations.
- Human rights abuses where the perpetrators are states or case involves state actors. While the ICJ mostly deals with inter-state issues, certain human rights cases can be elevated to the ICJ if they involve state responsibility or if states bring claims against one another for alleged violations.
- Cases involving private citizens are not within the jurisdiction of the ICJ. The ICJ's remit is restricted to disputes between sovereign states rather than individuals or non-state entities.
It should be noted that the ICJ is distinct from criminal courts such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), which can investigate cases involving individuals charged with serious crimes like genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.