Book excerpt: The international character of shipping and transport has always been a great incubator for harmonization of law. There has been an increased interest within the EU on the harmonization of general private law, with different harmonization instruments coming into existence, such as common core, the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL), and the Draft of a Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). Even though both shipping and transport law and these harmonization instruments aim to further harmonize private law, the potential interplay between them has never been examined thoroughly in doctrine. In this book, the possible impact of these private law harmonization instruments on shipping and transport law is assessed. The book investigates whether harmonization instruments can contribute to uniformity of shipping and transport law in fields where such uniformity is currently lacking. Secondly, it looks at whether the current instruments or a future European private law could change (inter)- national shipping and transport law. This cross-fertilization between shipping law and harmonization instruments makes this book not only valuable for shipping lawyers, but also for anyone interested in the harmonization of private law. (Series: Ius Commune Europaeum - Vol. 136) Subject: European Law, Private Law, Shipping Law, Transportation Law]