diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/http/CaseIgnoringComparator.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/http/CaseIgnoringComparator.java
index b00c90411b..63fcb4b1ad 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/http/CaseIgnoringComparator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/handler/codec/http/CaseIgnoringComparator.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ final class CaseIgnoringComparator implements Comparator<String>, Serializable {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 4582133183775373862L;
 
-    public static final CaseIgnoringComparator INSTANCE = new CaseIgnoringComparator();
+    static final CaseIgnoringComparator INSTANCE = new CaseIgnoringComparator();
 
     private CaseIgnoringComparator() {
         super();