WRIGHT— POWER TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES. 249 



stances " and " the obligation to take care that the laws of the United 

 States are faithfully executed, is an obligation but confers in itself 

 no powers. It is an obligation which is to be fulfilled by the exer- 

 cise of those powers which the Constitution and Congress have seen 

 fit to confer." The constitutional requirement in question means 

 that the President shall exercise his power as commander-in-chief to 

 move the forces, his power as head of the civil administration to 

 direct and instruct diplomatic, consular and other officers within 

 the scope of their powers as fixed by congress, his power to negotiate 

 treaties, his power to receive diplomatic officers and his other powers 

 given specifically by the Constitution or by congress in the manner 

 most appropriate to execute the laws, including international law 

 and treaties. It does not mean that he can supply means not pro- 

 vided by law or take measure not within the scope of his delegated 

 powers, however appropriate they might be for the meeting of inter- 

 national responsibilities. Within his recognized powers, however, 

 assuming the existence of the military, naval and civil organizations 

 as provided by congress, the President has power to meet many in- 

 ternational responsibilities without the aid of congress. 



94. Power of Courts to Meet International Responsibilities. 



The federal courts are obliged by the Constitution to apply 

 treaties as the supreme law of the land and have held that they 

 must apply international law in appropriate cases, though subsequent 

 express statutes will prevail in either case.-^ This, however, is an 

 obligation and not a power. The view taken by the courts in a 

 few early cases that from these duties they could derive jurisdiction 

 to enforce international law even by criminal punishments has not 

 prevailed.^^ The extension of federal judicial power by Article III 

 of the Constitution : 



"to all cases, in law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws 

 of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made under their 

 Authority; — to all Cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to contro- 

 versies to which the United States shall be a party; and to controversies . . . 

 between a State or the Citizens thereof, and Foreign states, Citizens or 

 Subjects " 



-5 Infra, sees. 106-108. 

 26 Infra, sec. 129. 



