diff --git a/src/java/Ref.hxx b/src/java/Ref.hxx
index 37c85a5e9..bd62b17d7 100644
--- a/src/java/Ref.hxx
+++ b/src/java/Ref.hxx
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ namespace Java {
 			 value(std::exchange(src.value, nullptr)) {}
 
 		~LocalRef() noexcept {
-			env->DeleteLocalRef(value);
+			if (value != nullptr)
+				env->DeleteLocalRef(value);
 		}
 
 		LocalRef(const LocalRef &other) = delete;