diff --git a/core/Convert.php b/core/Convert.php
index 965f7f103..0be48ac7d 100644
--- a/core/Convert.php
+++ b/core/Convert.php
@@ -170,13 +170,9 @@ class Convert {
 	 * @return mixed JSON safe string
 	 */
 	static function json2obj($val) {
-		if(function_exists('json_decode')) {
-			return json_decode($val);
-		} else {
-			require_once(Director::baseFolder() . '/sapphire/thirdparty/json/JSON.php');
-			$json = new Services_JSON();
-			return $json->decode($val);
-		}
+		require_once(Director::baseFolder() . '/sapphire/thirdparty/json/JSON.php');
+		$json = new Services_JSON();
+		return $json->decode($val);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -187,19 +183,15 @@ class Convert {
 	 * @return array|boolean
 	 */
 	static function json2array($val) {
-		if(function_exists('json_decode')) {
-			return json_decode($val, true);
-		} else {
-			$json = self::json2obj($val);
-			if(!$json) return false;
-			
-			$arr = array();
-			foreach($json as $k => $v) {
-				$arr[$k] = $v;
-			}
-			
-			return $arr;
+		$json = self::json2obj($val);
+		if(!$json) return false;
+		
+		$arr = array();
+		foreach($json as $k => $v) {
+			$arr[$k] = $v;
 		}
+		
+		return $arr;
 	}
 	
 	/**