The essence of international contract law in the digital epoch
In the period of the digitalisation of law, the interest underlying relations of a private nature (private, public or private-public) is a criterion for distinguishing them. In the world of modern and digital law, which is marked by a significant level of legal unification, in particular within the framework of the institutions of a united Europe, the fragmentation of law is viewed as an urgent problem. Taking into account the results of the research on the main options for regulating contractual relations of a private nature, the article makes an attempt to establish and outline the boundaries of such a specific entity as international contract law. The author points out that the issues of the legal nature of commercial law are debatable and some scholars think that the inclusion of a public element in this regulatory system is just an attempt to artificially sever commercial law into an independent branch of law by grouping the norms of civil and administrative legislation. The scientific literature is analysed in the context of the existence of competence to establish peremptory norms for member states by the institutions of the European Union. The author concludes that international contract law is not a fiction, but a real regulatory system, dealing with cross-border contractual relations.