In the 25 years of its history, basic research in the Abstract Data Type community has been challenged to provide answers to some critical questions on the fundamentals of refinement between formal specifications. Such questions include: Why do correct refinements not compose correctly in all cases What results are dependent on the specification formalism (equational, first order, etc) and what are universal" Which meta-logical properties of a specification formalism facilitate the refinement process An example of a metalogical property which amounts to a law" of a general theory of specification and refinement is given by the role of interpolation in parameter instantiation and the composability of refinements. In addition, the presence of a Uniform version of Craig-Robinson interpolation is shown in to facilitate the verification and construction of refinements and to underlie the potential automation of the refinement process in an appropriate entailment system.