diff --git a/lib/assert.js b/lib/assert.js
index 7e932be14a1..50a6920a23e 100644
--- a/lib/assert.js
+++ b/lib/assert.js
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ assert.AssertionError = function AssertionError(options) {
     Error.captureStackTrace(this, stackStartFunction);
   }
 };
+
+// assert.AssertionError instanceof Error
 util.inherits(assert.AssertionError, Error);
 
 function replacer(key, value) {
@@ -85,10 +87,6 @@ assert.AssertionError.prototype.toString = function() {
   }
 };
 
-// assert.AssertionError instanceof Error
-
-assert.AssertionError.__proto__ = Error.prototype;
-
 // At present only the three keys mentioned above are used and
 // understood by the spec. Implementations or sub modules can pass
 // other keys to the AssertionError's constructor - they will be