This text identifies, explains and justifies the generally accepted role of public international law in the application of United States law by United States courts. It rejects the idea of international law as a sort of ""super-constitution"" that ""controls"" the president or Congress, it also rejects the opposite extreme, that international law is no more than a policy consideration for the courts to consider.;The middle position is justified by a careful balancing of two important national interests - constitutional separation of powers and the ability of the United States to benefit from the international system of binding obligations commonly called international law.