diff --git a/src/main/java/net/sf/jabref/JabRefPreferences.java b/src/main/java/net/sf/jabref/JabRefPreferences.java
index e20d49d83b5..7707cc562e6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/sf/jabref/JabRefPreferences.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/sf/jabref/JabRefPreferences.java
@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@ private JabRefPreferences() {
         defaults.put(HIGHLIGHT_GROUPS_MATCHING_ALL, Boolean.FALSE);
         defaults.put(TOOLBAR_VISIBLE, Boolean.TRUE);
         defaults.put(SEARCH_PANEL_VISIBLE, Boolean.FALSE);
-        defaults.put(DEFAULT_ENCODING, System.getProperty("file.encoding"));
+        defaults.put(DEFAULT_ENCODING, "UTF-8");
         defaults.put(GROUPS_VISIBLE_ROWS, 8);
         defaults.put(DEFAULT_OWNER, System.getProperty("user.name"));
         defaults.put(PRESERVE_FIELD_FORMATTING, Boolean.FALSE);