diff --git a/libraries/joomla/date/date.php b/libraries/joomla/date/date.php
index f26f266bd5f95..db8bc0cb5941a 100644
--- a/libraries/joomla/date/date.php
+++ b/libraries/joomla/date/date.php
@@ -91,13 +91,13 @@ public function __construct($date = 'now', $tz = null)
 		// If the time zone object is not set, attempt to build it.
 		if (!($tz instanceof DateTimeZone))
 		{
-			if ($tz === null)
+			if (is_string($tz))
 			{
-				$tz = self::$gmt;
+				$tz = new DateTimeZone($tz);
 			}
-			elseif (is_string($tz))
+			else
 			{
-				$tz = new DateTimeZone($tz);
+				$tz = self::$gmt;
 			}
 		}