diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/CommitConfig.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/CommitConfig.java
index 6a9b45b06..f701a41d6 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/CommitConfig.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/CommitConfig.java
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ public static char determineCommentChar(String text) {
 			for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {
 				char ch = line.charAt(i);
 				if (!Character.isWhitespace(ch)) {
-					if (ch >= 0 && ch < inUse.length) {
+					if (ch < inUse.length) {
 						inUse[ch] = true;
 					}
 					break;