In the context of the break-up of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the independence of Montenegro and the unification of Germany, can a new State be held responsible for wrongful acts committed before its independence by the predecessor State? This book is the most comprehensive analysis of State practice, case law and scholarship identifying the factors and circumstances under which the rights and obligations arising from wrongful acts committed before independence can be transferred to a new State. This updated and revised second edition covers new developments, including the recent works of the International Law Commission and the Institute of International Law.