diff --git a/lib/java/src/TApplicationException.java b/lib/java/src/TApplicationException.java
index 0890282..b9c0d3d 100644
--- a/lib/java/src/TApplicationException.java
+++ b/lib/java/src/TApplicationException.java
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
   public static final int BAD_SEQUENCE_ID = 4;
   public static final int MISSING_RESULT = 5;
 
-  protected int type_ = 0;
+  protected int type_ = UNKNOWN;
 
   public TApplicationException() {
     super();