DPP v Nock [1978] AC 979 should no longer be followed in New South Wales as authority for the proposition that a conspiracy to commit the impossible is not criminal. Where the alleged conspirators would have committed a substantive offence had they succeeded in carrying out their agreement, the conspiracy charge is valid even though the particular means adopted could not achieve the intended result. The critical question is the characterisation of the agreement: whether it was an agreement in general terms to commit the offence, or an agreement limited to a specific course of conduct that was impossible.
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