diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/TypeConverterDelegate.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/TypeConverterDelegate.java
index 1c59360b6a..8edb9f7d00 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/TypeConverterDelegate.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/TypeConverterDelegate.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -289,15 +289,15 @@ class TypeConverterDelegate {
 			if (index > - 1) {
 				String enumType = trimmedValue.substring(0, index);
 				String fieldName = trimmedValue.substring(index + 1);
-				ClassLoader loader = this.targetObject.getClass().getClassLoader();
+				ClassLoader cl = this.targetObject.getClass().getClassLoader();
 				try {
-					Class<?> enumValueType = loader.loadClass(enumType);
+					Class<?> enumValueType = ClassUtils.forName(enumType, cl);
 					Field enumField = enumValueType.getField(fieldName);
 					convertedValue = enumField.get(null);
 				}
 				catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 					if(logger.isTraceEnabled()) {
-						logger.trace("Enum class [" + enumType + "] cannot be loaded from [" + loader + "]", ex);
+						logger.trace("Enum class [" + enumType + "] cannot be loaded", ex);
 					}
 				}
 				catch (Throwable ex) {
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
index 622141e3d1..04ec97c301 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -135,9 +135,9 @@ public class AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor extends InstantiationAwareBean
 	public AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor() {
 		this.autowiredAnnotationTypes.add(Autowired.class);
 		this.autowiredAnnotationTypes.add(Value.class);
-		ClassLoader cl = AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			this.autowiredAnnotationTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.inject.Inject"));
+			this.autowiredAnnotationTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>)
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.inject.Inject", AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.class.getClassLoader()));
 			logger.info("JSR-330 'javax.inject.Inject' annotation found and supported for autowiring");
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.java
index 6eb7eae43d..fe598cff2b 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/annotation/QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -71,9 +71,9 @@ public class QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver implements AutowireCan
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 	public QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver() {
 		this.qualifierTypes.add(Qualifier.class);
-		ClassLoader cl = QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			this.qualifierTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.inject.Qualifier"));
+			this.qualifierTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>)
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.inject.Qualifier", QualifierAnnotationAutowireCandidateResolver.class.getClassLoader()));
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			// JSR-330 API not available - simply skip.
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DefaultListableBeanFactory.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DefaultListableBeanFactory.java
index 55d6e39adc..1dfc49cc8c 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DefaultListableBeanFactory.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DefaultListableBeanFactory.java
@@ -103,9 +103,9 @@ public class DefaultListableBeanFactory extends AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFacto
 	private static Class<?> javaxInjectProviderClass = null;
 
 	static {
-		ClassLoader cl = DefaultListableBeanFactory.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			javaxInjectProviderClass = cl.loadClass("javax.inject.Provider");
+			javaxInjectProviderClass =
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.inject.Provider", DefaultListableBeanFactory.class.getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			// JSR-330 API not available - Provider interface simply not supported then.
diff --git a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DisposableBeanAdapter.java b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DisposableBeanAdapter.java
index 6a498344a9..6935318213 100644
--- a/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DisposableBeanAdapter.java
+++ b/spring-beans/src/main/java/org/springframework/beans/factory/support/DisposableBeanAdapter.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ class DisposableBeanAdapter implements DisposableBean, Runnable, Serializable {
 
 	static {
 		try {
-			closeableInterface = DisposableBeanAdapter.class.getClassLoader().loadClass("java.lang.AutoCloseable");
+			closeableInterface = ClassUtils.forName("java.lang.AutoCloseable",
+					DisposableBeanAdapter.class.getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			closeableInterface = Closeable.class;
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/CronTriggerFactoryBean.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/CronTriggerFactoryBean.java
index da02b01b27..4eea1c5627 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/CronTriggerFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/CronTriggerFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.FactoryBean;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.core.Constants;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -259,7 +260,7 @@ public class CronTriggerFactoryBean implements FactoryBean<CronTrigger>, BeanNam
 		Class<?> cronTriggerClass;
 		Method jobKeyMethod;
 		try {
-			cronTriggerClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.impl.triggers.CronTriggerImpl");
+			cronTriggerClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.impl.triggers.CronTriggerImpl", getClass().getClassLoader());
 			jobKeyMethod = JobDetail.class.getMethod("getKey");
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/JobDetailFactoryBean.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/JobDetailFactoryBean.java
index db9e586a23..80c49a136c 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/JobDetailFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/JobDetailFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.FactoryBean;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextAware;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 
 /**
  * A Spring {@link FactoryBean} for creating a Quartz {@link org.quartz.JobDetail}
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ public class JobDetailFactoryBean
 
 	private String group;
 
-	private Class jobClass;
+	private Class<?> jobClass;
 
 	private JobDataMap jobDataMap = new JobDataMap();
 
@@ -92,7 +93,7 @@ public class JobDetailFactoryBean
 	/**
 	 * Specify the job's implementation class.
 	 */
-	public void setJobClass(Class jobClass) {
+	public void setJobClass(Class<?> jobClass) {
 		this.jobClass = jobClass;
 	}
 
@@ -207,7 +208,7 @@ public class JobDetailFactoryBean
 
 		Class<?> jobDetailClass;
 		try {
-			jobDetailClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.impl.JobDetailImpl");
+			jobDetailClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.impl.JobDetailImpl", getClass().getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			jobDetailClass = JobDetail.class;
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.java
index a271d5f3e4..6d910bbead 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -86,14 +86,15 @@ public class MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean extends ArgumentConvertingMethod
 
 	static {
 		try {
-			jobDetailImplClass = Class.forName("org.quartz.impl.JobDetailImpl");
+			jobDetailImplClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.impl.JobDetailImpl",
+					MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.class.getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			jobDetailImplClass = null;
 		}
 		try {
-			Class<?> jobExecutionContextClass =
-					QuartzJobBean.class.getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.JobExecutionContext");
+			Class<?> jobExecutionContextClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.JobExecutionContext",
+					MethodInvokingJobDetailFactoryBean.class.getClassLoader());
 			setResultMethod = jobExecutionContextClass.getMethod("setResult", Object.class);
 		}
 		catch (Exception ex) {
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/QuartzJobBean.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/QuartzJobBean.java
index b2d61536da..1f30286adc 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/QuartzJobBean.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/QuartzJobBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.quartz.SchedulerException;
 import org.springframework.beans.BeanWrapper;
 import org.springframework.beans.MutablePropertyValues;
 import org.springframework.beans.PropertyAccessorFactory;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -79,8 +80,8 @@ public abstract class QuartzJobBean implements Job {
 
 	static {
 		try {
-			Class jobExecutionContextClass =
-					QuartzJobBean.class.getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.JobExecutionContext");
+			Class<?> jobExecutionContextClass =
+					ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.JobExecutionContext", QuartzJobBean.class.getClassLoader());
 			getSchedulerMethod = jobExecutionContextClass.getMethod("getScheduler");
 			getMergedJobDataMapMethod = jobExecutionContextClass.getMethod("getMergedJobDataMap");
 		}
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ public abstract class QuartzJobBean implements Job {
 		try {
 			// Reflectively adapting to differences between Quartz 1.x and Quartz 2.0...
 			Scheduler scheduler = (Scheduler) ReflectionUtils.invokeMethod(getSchedulerMethod, context);
-			Map mergedJobDataMap = (Map) ReflectionUtils.invokeMethod(getMergedJobDataMapMethod, context);
+			Map<?, ?> mergedJobDataMap = (Map<?, ?>) ReflectionUtils.invokeMethod(getMergedJobDataMapMethod, context);
 
 			BeanWrapper bw = PropertyAccessorFactory.forBeanPropertyAccess(this);
 			MutablePropertyValues pvs = new MutablePropertyValues();
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SchedulerAccessor.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SchedulerAccessor.java
index 5376a79078..6d0c958c13 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SchedulerAccessor.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SchedulerAccessor.java
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import org.springframework.transaction.PlatformTransactionManager;
 import org.springframework.transaction.TransactionException;
 import org.springframework.transaction.TransactionStatus;
 import org.springframework.transaction.support.DefaultTransactionDefinition;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -66,8 +67,8 @@ public abstract class SchedulerAccessor implements ResourceLoaderAware {
 	static {
 		// Quartz 2.0 job/trigger key available?
 		try {
-			jobKeyClass = Class.forName("org.quartz.JobKey");
-			triggerKeyClass = Class.forName("org.quartz.TriggerKey");
+			jobKeyClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.JobKey", SchedulerAccessor.class.getClassLoader());
+			triggerKeyClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.TriggerKey", SchedulerAccessor.class.getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			jobKeyClass = null;
@@ -254,7 +255,7 @@ public abstract class SchedulerAccessor implements ResourceLoaderAware {
 				clh.initialize();
 				try {
 					// Quartz 1.8 or higher?
-					Class<?> dataProcessorClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.xml.XMLSchedulingDataProcessor");
+					Class<?> dataProcessorClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.xml.XMLSchedulingDataProcessor", getClass().getClassLoader());
 					logger.debug("Using Quartz 1.8 XMLSchedulingDataProcessor");
 					Object dataProcessor = dataProcessorClass.getConstructor(ClassLoadHelper.class).newInstance(clh);
 					Method processFileAndScheduleJobs = dataProcessorClass.getMethod("processFileAndScheduleJobs", String.class, Scheduler.class);
@@ -264,7 +265,7 @@ public abstract class SchedulerAccessor implements ResourceLoaderAware {
 				}
 				catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 					// Quartz 1.6
-					Class<?> dataProcessorClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.xml.JobSchedulingDataProcessor");
+					Class<?> dataProcessorClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.xml.JobSchedulingDataProcessor", getClass().getClassLoader());
 					logger.debug("Using Quartz 1.6 JobSchedulingDataProcessor");
 					Object dataProcessor = dataProcessorClass.getConstructor(ClassLoadHelper.class, boolean.class, boolean.class).newInstance(clh, true, true);
 					Method processFileAndScheduleJobs = dataProcessorClass.getMethod("processFileAndScheduleJobs", String.class, Scheduler.class, boolean.class);
diff --git a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SimpleTriggerFactoryBean.java b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SimpleTriggerFactoryBean.java
index 4f09d466e1..96a39cd8eb 100644
--- a/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SimpleTriggerFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-context-support/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/quartz/SimpleTriggerFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.FactoryBean;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.core.Constants;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -250,7 +251,7 @@ public class SimpleTriggerFactoryBean implements FactoryBean<SimpleTrigger>, Bea
 		Class<?> simpleTriggerClass;
 		Method jobKeyMethod;
 		try {
-			simpleTriggerClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.quartz.impl.triggers.SimpleTriggerImpl");
+			simpleTriggerClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.quartz.impl.triggers.SimpleTriggerImpl", getClass().getClassLoader());
 			jobKeyMethod = JobDetail.class.getMethod("getKey");
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/AnnotationConfigUtils.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/AnnotationConfigUtils.java
index 39560ef531..32e9bfc59f 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/AnnotationConfigUtils.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/AnnotationConfigUtils.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -208,8 +208,8 @@ public class AnnotationConfigUtils {
 		if (jpaPresent && !registry.containsBeanDefinition(PERSISTENCE_ANNOTATION_PROCESSOR_BEAN_NAME)) {
 			RootBeanDefinition def = new RootBeanDefinition();
 			try {
-				ClassLoader cl = AnnotationConfigUtils.class.getClassLoader();
-				def.setBeanClass(cl.loadClass(PERSISTENCE_ANNOTATION_PROCESSOR_CLASS_NAME));
+				def.setBeanClass(ClassUtils.forName(PERSISTENCE_ANNOTATION_PROCESSOR_CLASS_NAME,
+						AnnotationConfigUtils.class.getClassLoader()));
 			}
 			catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 				throw new IllegalStateException(
diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider.java
index 9280c65e1b..9714322ba7 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ public class ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider implements EnvironmentC
 		ClassLoader cl = ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
 			this.includeFilters.add(new AnnotationTypeFilter(
-					((Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.annotation.ManagedBean")), false));
+					((Class<? extends Annotation>) ClassUtils.forName("javax.annotation.ManagedBean", cl)), false));
 			logger.debug("JSR-250 'javax.annotation.ManagedBean' found and supported for component scanning");
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ public class ClassPathScanningCandidateComponentProvider implements EnvironmentC
 		}
 		try {
 			this.includeFilters.add(new AnnotationTypeFilter(
-					((Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.inject.Named")), false));
+					((Class<? extends Annotation>) ClassUtils.forName("javax.inject.Named", cl)), false));
 			logger.debug("JSR-330 'javax.inject.Named' annotation found and supported for component scanning");
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
index 7d5fdcdbc1..e7aec9e286 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/context/annotation/CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -145,10 +145,10 @@ public class CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor extends InitDestroyAnnotationBean
 	private static Class<? extends Annotation> ejbRefClass = null;
 
 	static {
-		ClassLoader cl = CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
 			@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-			Class<? extends Annotation> clazz = (Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.xml.ws.WebServiceRef");
+			Class<? extends Annotation> clazz = (Class<? extends Annotation>)
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.xml.ws.WebServiceRef", CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.class.getClassLoader());
 			webServiceRefClass = clazz;
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
@@ -156,7 +156,8 @@ public class CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor extends InitDestroyAnnotationBean
 		}
 		try {
 			@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-			Class<? extends Annotation> clazz = (Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.ejb.EJB");
+			Class<? extends Annotation> clazz = (Class<? extends Annotation>)
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.ejb.EJB", CommonAnnotationBeanPostProcessor.class.getClassLoader());
 			ejbRefClass = clazz;
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/annotation/AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/annotation/AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.java
index 78114af869..946671538a 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/annotation/AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/annotation/AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactory;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanFactoryAware;
 import org.springframework.core.task.SimpleAsyncTaskExecutor;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 
 /**
  * Advisor that activates asynchronous method execution through the {@link Async}
@@ -73,9 +74,9 @@ public class AsyncAnnotationAdvisor extends AbstractPointcutAdvisor implements B
 	public AsyncAnnotationAdvisor(Executor executor) {
 		Set<Class<? extends Annotation>> asyncAnnotationTypes = new LinkedHashSet<Class<? extends Annotation>>(2);
 		asyncAnnotationTypes.add(Async.class);
-		ClassLoader cl = AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			asyncAnnotationTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>) cl.loadClass("javax.ejb.Asynchronous"));
+			asyncAnnotationTypes.add((Class<? extends Annotation>)
+					ClassUtils.forName("javax.ejb.Asynchronous", AsyncAnnotationAdvisor.class.getClassLoader()));
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			// If EJB 3.1 API not present, simply ignore.
diff --git a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/config/TaskExecutorFactoryBean.java b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/config/TaskExecutorFactoryBean.java
index 4579a9e91b..8dee1ac7a4 100644
--- a/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/config/TaskExecutorFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-context/src/main/java/org/springframework/scheduling/config/TaskExecutorFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2010 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
 import org.springframework.core.JdkVersion;
 import org.springframework.core.task.TaskExecutor;
 import org.springframework.scheduling.concurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ public class TaskExecutorFactoryBean implements
 
 	public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
 		Class<?> executorClass = (shouldUseBackport() ?
-				getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("org.springframework.scheduling.backportconcurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor") :
+				ClassUtils.forName("org.springframework.scheduling.backportconcurrent.ThreadPoolTaskExecutor", getClass().getClassLoader()) :
 				ThreadPoolTaskExecutor.class);
 		BeanWrapper bw = new BeanWrapperImpl(executorClass);
 		determinePoolSizeRange(bw);
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/CollectionFactory.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/CollectionFactory.java
index 5e5cddf49d..23335434fc 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/CollectionFactory.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/CollectionFactory.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import java.util.TreeSet;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.CopyOnWriteArraySet;
 
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.LinkedCaseInsensitiveMap;
 import org.springframework.util.LinkedMultiValueMap;
 import org.springframework.util.MultiValueMap;
@@ -73,8 +74,8 @@ public abstract class CollectionFactory {
 		// New Java 6 collection interfaces
 		ClassLoader cl = CollectionFactory.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			navigableSetClass = cl.loadClass("java.util.NavigableSet");
-			navigableMapClass = cl.loadClass("java.util.NavigableMap");
+			navigableSetClass = ClassUtils.forName("java.util.NavigableSet", cl);
+			navigableMapClass = ClassUtils.forName("java.util.NavigableMap", cl);
 			approximableCollectionTypes.add(navigableSetClass);
 			approximableMapTypes.add(navigableMapClass);
 		}
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ClassPathResource.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ClassPathResource.java
index 3e8467178d..b1d2998ed1 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ClassPathResource.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ClassPathResource.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 
 
 	/**
-	 * Create a new ClassPathResource for ClassLoader usage.
-	 * A leading slash will be removed, as the ClassLoader
-	 * resource access methods will not accept it.
+	 * Create a new {@code ClassPathResource} for {@code ClassLoader} usage.
+	 * A leading slash will be removed, as the ClassLoader resource access
+	 * methods will not accept it.
 	 * <p>The thread context class loader will be used for
 	 * loading the resource.
 	 * @param path the absolute path within the class path
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Create a new ClassPathResource for ClassLoader usage.
-	 * A leading slash will be removed, as the ClassLoader
-	 * resource access methods will not accept it.
+	 * Create a new {@code ClassPathResource} for {@code ClassLoader} usage.
+	 * A leading slash will be removed, as the ClassLoader resource access
+	 * methods will not accept it.
 	 * @param path the absolute path within the classpath
 	 * @param classLoader the class loader to load the resource with,
 	 * or {@code null} for the thread context class loader
@@ -83,9 +83,9 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Create a new ClassPathResource for Class usage.
-	 * The path can be relative to the given class,
-	 * or absolute within the classpath via a leading slash.
+	 * Create a new {@code ClassPathResource} for {@code Class} usage.
+	 * The path can be relative to the given class, or absolute within
+	 * the classpath via a leading slash.
 	 * @param path relative or absolute path within the class path
 	 * @param clazz the class to load resources with
 	 * @see java.lang.Class#getResourceAsStream
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Create a new ClassPathResource with optional ClassLoader and Class.
-	 * Only for internal usage.
+	 * Create a new {@code ClassPathResource} with optional {@code ClassLoader}
+	 * and {@code Class}. Only for internal usage.
 	 * @param path relative or absolute path within the classpath
 	 * @param classLoader the class loader to load the resource with, if any
 	 * @param clazz the class to load resources with, if any
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 		this.clazz = clazz;
 	}
 
+
 	/**
 	 * Return the path for this resource (as resource path within the class path).
 	 */
@@ -120,9 +121,10 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	 * Return the ClassLoader that this resource will be obtained from.
 	 */
 	public final ClassLoader getClassLoader() {
-		return (this.classLoader != null ? this.classLoader : this.clazz.getClassLoader());
+		return (this.clazz != null ? this.clazz.getClassLoader() : this.classLoader);
 	}
 
+
 	/**
 	 * This implementation checks for the resolution of a resource URL.
 	 * @see java.lang.ClassLoader#getResource(String)
@@ -130,14 +132,23 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	 */
 	@Override
 	public boolean exists() {
-		URL url;
+		return (resolveURL() != null);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Resolves a URL for the underlying class path resource.
+	 * @return the resolved URL, or {@code null} if not resolvable
+	 */
+	protected URL resolveURL() {
 		if (this.clazz != null) {
-			url = this.clazz.getResource(this.path);
+			return this.clazz.getResource(this.path);
+		}
+		else if (this.classLoader != null) {
+			return this.classLoader.getResource(this.path);
 		}
 		else {
-			url = this.classLoader.getResource(this.path);
+			return ClassLoader.getSystemResource(this.path);
 		}
-		return (url != null);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -150,9 +161,12 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 		if (this.clazz != null) {
 			is = this.clazz.getResourceAsStream(this.path);
 		}
-		else {
+		else if (this.classLoader != null) {
 			is = this.classLoader.getResourceAsStream(this.path);
 		}
+		else {
+			is = ClassLoader.getSystemResourceAsStream(this.path);
+		}
 		if (is == null) {
 			throw new FileNotFoundException(getDescription() + " cannot be opened because it does not exist");
 		}
@@ -160,19 +174,14 @@ public class ClassPathResource extends AbstractFileResolvingResource {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * This implementation returns a URL for the underlying class path resource.
+	 * This implementation returns a URL for the underlying class path resource,
+	 * if available.
 	 * @see java.lang.ClassLoader#getResource(String)
 	 * @see java.lang.Class#getResource(String)
 	 */
 	@Override
 	public URL getURL() throws IOException {
-		URL url;
-		if (this.clazz != null) {
-			url = this.clazz.getResource(this.path);
-		}
-		else {
-			url = this.classLoader.getResource(this.path);
-		}
+		URL url = resolveURL();
 		if (url == null) {
 			throw new FileNotFoundException(getDescription() + " cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist");
 		}
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ResourceLoader.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ResourceLoader.java
index 958746178f..b753535ab0 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ResourceLoader.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/ResourceLoader.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -70,7 +70,9 @@ public interface ResourceLoader {
 	 * <p>Clients which need to access the ClassLoader directly can do so
 	 * in a uniform manner with the ResourceLoader, rather than relying
 	 * on the thread context ClassLoader.
-	 * @return the ClassLoader (never {@code null})
+	 * @return the ClassLoader (only {@code null} if even the system
+	 * ClassLoader isn't accessible)
+	 * @see org.springframework.util.ClassUtils#getDefaultClassLoader()
 	 */
 	ClassLoader getClassLoader();
 
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.java
index 89e8b69be4..593ac7dedf 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import org.springframework.core.io.UrlResource;
 import org.springframework.core.io.VfsResource;
 import org.springframework.util.AntPathMatcher;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.PathMatcher;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ResourceUtils;
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
  * <p><b>Ant-style Patterns:</b>
  *
  * <p>When the path location contains an Ant-style pattern, e.g.:
- * <pre>
+ * <pre class="code">
  * /WEB-INF/*-context.xml
  * com/mycompany/**&#47;applicationContext.xml
  * file:C:/some/path/*-context.xml
@@ -143,11 +144,15 @@ import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
  *
  * <p><b>WARNING:</b> Ant-style patterns with "classpath:" resources are not
  * guaranteed to find matching resources if the root package to search is available
- * in multiple class path locations. This is because a resource such as<pre>
+ * in multiple class path locations. This is because a resource such as
+ * <pre class="code">
  *     com/mycompany/package1/service-context.xml
- * </pre>may be in only one location, but when a path such as<pre>
+ * </pre>
+ * may be in only one location, but when a path such as
+ * <pre class="code">
  *     classpath:com/mycompany/**&#47;service-context.xml
- * </pre>is used to try to resolve it, the resolver will work off the (first) URL
+ * </pre>
+ * is used to try to resolve it, the resolver will work off the (first) URL
  * returned by {@code getResource("com/mycompany");}. If this base package
  * node exists in multiple classloader locations, the actual end resource may
  * not be underneath. Therefore, preferably, use "{@code classpath*:}" with the same
@@ -171,10 +176,10 @@ public class PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver implements ResourcePatternResol
 	private static Method equinoxResolveMethod;
 
 	static {
-		// Detect Equinox OSGi (e.g. on WebSphere 6.1)
 		try {
-			Class<?> fileLocatorClass = PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.class.getClassLoader().loadClass(
-					"org.eclipse.core.runtime.FileLocator");
+			// Detect Equinox OSGi (e.g. on WebSphere 6.1)
+			Class<?> fileLocatorClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.eclipse.core.runtime.FileLocator",
+					PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.class.getClassLoader());
 			equinoxResolveMethod = fileLocatorClass.getMethod("resolve", URL.class);
 			logger.debug("Found Equinox FileLocator for OSGi bundle URL resolution");
 		}
@@ -198,17 +203,6 @@ public class PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver implements ResourcePatternResol
 		this.resourceLoader = new DefaultResourceLoader();
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * Create a new PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver with a DefaultResourceLoader.
-	 * @param classLoader the ClassLoader to load classpath resources with,
-	 * or {@code null} for using the thread context class loader
-	 * at the time of actual resource access
-	 * @see org.springframework.core.io.DefaultResourceLoader
-	 */
-	public PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver(ClassLoader classLoader) {
-		this.resourceLoader = new DefaultResourceLoader(classLoader);
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * Create a new PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver.
 	 * <p>ClassLoader access will happen via the thread context class loader.
@@ -220,6 +214,18 @@ public class PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver implements ResourcePatternResol
 		this.resourceLoader = resourceLoader;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Create a new PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver with a DefaultResourceLoader.
+	 * @param classLoader the ClassLoader to load classpath resources with,
+	 * or {@code null} for using the thread context class loader
+	 * at the time of actual resource access
+	 * @see org.springframework.core.io.DefaultResourceLoader
+	 */
+	public PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver(ClassLoader classLoader) {
+		this.resourceLoader = new DefaultResourceLoader(classLoader);
+	}
+
+
 	/**
 	 * Return the ResourceLoader that this pattern resolver works with.
 	 */
@@ -227,10 +233,6 @@ public class PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver implements ResourcePatternResol
 		return this.resourceLoader;
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * Return the ClassLoader that this pattern resolver works with
-	 * (never {@code null}).
-	 */
 	public ClassLoader getClassLoader() {
 		return getResourceLoader().getClassLoader();
 	}
@@ -298,7 +300,8 @@ public class PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver implements ResourcePatternResol
 		if (path.startsWith("/")) {
 			path = path.substring(1);
 		}
-		Enumeration<URL> resourceUrls = getClassLoader().getResources(path);
+		ClassLoader cl = getClassLoader();
+		Enumeration<URL> resourceUrls = (cl != null ? cl.getResources(path) : ClassLoader.getSystemResources(path));
 		Set<Resource> result = new LinkedHashSet<Resource>(16);
 		while (resourceUrls.hasMoreElements()) {
 			URL url = resourceUrls.nextElement();
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PropertiesLoaderUtils.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PropertiesLoaderUtils.java
index 503f2bb1bb..c501a52fe6 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PropertiesLoaderUtils.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/PropertiesLoaderUtils.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -170,14 +170,15 @@ public abstract class PropertiesLoaderUtils {
 	 */
 	public static Properties loadAllProperties(String resourceName, ClassLoader classLoader) throws IOException {
 		Assert.notNull(resourceName, "Resource name must not be null");
-		ClassLoader clToUse = classLoader;
-		if (clToUse == null) {
-			clToUse = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader();
+		ClassLoader classLoaderToUse = classLoader;
+		if (classLoaderToUse == null) {
+			classLoaderToUse = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader();
 		}
+		Enumeration<URL> urls = (classLoaderToUse != null ? classLoaderToUse.getResources(resourceName) :
+				ClassLoader.getSystemResources(resourceName));
 		Properties props = new Properties();
-		Enumeration urls = clToUse.getResources(resourceName);
 		while (urls.hasMoreElements()) {
-			URL url = (URL) urls.nextElement();
+			URL url = urls.nextElement();
 			URLConnection con = url.openConnection();
 			ResourceUtils.useCachesIfNecessary(con);
 			InputStream is = con.getInputStream();
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/SpringFactoriesLoader.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/SpringFactoriesLoader.java
index 6c33d76817..9125716580 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/SpringFactoriesLoader.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/io/support/SpringFactoriesLoader.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -67,16 +67,17 @@ public abstract class SpringFactoriesLoader {
 	 */
 	public static <T> List<T> loadFactories(Class<T> factoryClass, ClassLoader classLoader) {
 		Assert.notNull(factoryClass, "'factoryClass' must not be null");
-		if (classLoader == null) {
-			classLoader = SpringFactoriesLoader.class.getClassLoader();
+		ClassLoader classLoaderToUse = classLoader;
+		if (classLoaderToUse == null) {
+			classLoaderToUse = SpringFactoriesLoader.class.getClassLoader();
 		}
-		List<String> factoryNames = loadFactoryNames(factoryClass, classLoader);
+		List<String> factoryNames = loadFactoryNames(factoryClass, classLoaderToUse);
 		if (logger.isTraceEnabled()) {
 			logger.trace("Loaded [" + factoryClass.getName() + "] names: " + factoryNames);
 		}
 		List<T> result = new ArrayList<T>(factoryNames.size());
 		for (String factoryName : factoryNames) {
-			result.add(instantiateFactory(factoryName, factoryClass, classLoader));
+			result.add(instantiateFactory(factoryName, factoryClass, classLoaderToUse));
 		}
 		OrderComparator.sort(result);
 		return result;
@@ -85,8 +86,9 @@ public abstract class SpringFactoriesLoader {
 	public static List<String> loadFactoryNames(Class<?> factoryClass, ClassLoader classLoader) {
 		String factoryClassName = factoryClass.getName();
 		try {
+			Enumeration<URL> urls = (classLoader != null ? classLoader.getResources(FACTORIES_RESOURCE_LOCATION) :
+					ClassLoader.getSystemResources(FACTORIES_RESOURCE_LOCATION));
 			List<String> result = new ArrayList<String>();
-			Enumeration<URL> urls = classLoader.getResources(FACTORIES_RESOURCE_LOCATION);
 			while (urls.hasMoreElements()) {
 				URL url = urls.nextElement();
 				Properties properties = PropertiesLoaderUtils.loadProperties(new UrlResource(url));
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/type/filter/AssignableTypeFilter.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/type/filter/AssignableTypeFilter.java
index 82afe352cc..6365304627 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/type/filter/AssignableTypeFilter.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/core/type/filter/AssignableTypeFilter.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 package org.springframework.core.type.filter;
 
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
+
 /**
  * A simple filter which matches classes that are assignable to a given type.
  *
@@ -26,14 +28,14 @@ package org.springframework.core.type.filter;
  */
 public class AssignableTypeFilter extends AbstractTypeHierarchyTraversingFilter {
 
-	private final Class targetType;
+	private final Class<?> targetType;
 
 
 	/**
 	 * Create a new AssignableTypeFilter for the given type.
 	 * @param targetType the type to match
 	 */
-	public AssignableTypeFilter(Class targetType) {
+	public AssignableTypeFilter(Class<?> targetType) {
 		super(true, true);
 		this.targetType = targetType;
 	}
@@ -59,15 +61,15 @@ public class AssignableTypeFilter extends AbstractTypeHierarchyTraversingFilter
 			return true;
 		}
 		else if (Object.class.getName().equals(typeName)) {
-			return Boolean.FALSE;
+			return false;
 		}
-		else if (typeName.startsWith("java.")) {
+		else if (typeName.startsWith("java")) {
 			try {
-				Class clazz = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass(typeName);
-				return Boolean.valueOf(this.targetType.isAssignableFrom(clazz));
+				Class<?> clazz = ClassUtils.forName(typeName, getClass().getClassLoader());
+				return this.targetType.isAssignableFrom(clazz);
 			}
-			catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
-				// Class not found - can't determine a match that way.
+			catch (Throwable ex) {
+				// Class not regularly loadable - can't determine a match that way.
 			}
 		}
 		return null;
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ClassUtils.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ClassUtils.java
index eaf32d4664..e3d55f358f 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ClassUtils.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ClassUtils.java
@@ -142,12 +142,14 @@ public abstract class ClassUtils {
 	 * ClassLoader, if available; the ClassLoader that loaded the ClassUtils
 	 * class will be used as fallback.
 	 * <p>Call this method if you intend to use the thread context ClassLoader
-	 * in a scenario where you absolutely need a non-null ClassLoader reference:
+	 * in a scenario where you clearly prefer a non-null ClassLoader reference:
 	 * for example, for class path resource loading (but not necessarily for
 	 * {@code Class.forName}, which accepts a {@code null} ClassLoader
 	 * reference as well).
-	 * @return the default ClassLoader (never {@code null})
+	 * @return the default ClassLoader (only {@code null} if even the system
+	 * ClassLoader isn't accessible)
 	 * @see Thread#getContextClassLoader()
+	 * @see ClassLoader#getSystemClassLoader()
 	 */
 	public static ClassLoader getDefaultClassLoader() {
 		ClassLoader cl = null;
@@ -155,11 +157,20 @@ public abstract class ClassUtils {
 			cl = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
 		}
 		catch (Throwable ex) {
-			// Cannot access thread context ClassLoader - falling back to system class loader...
+			// Cannot access thread context ClassLoader - falling back...
 		}
 		if (cl == null) {
 			// No thread context class loader -> use class loader of this class.
 			cl = ClassUtils.class.getClassLoader();
+			if (cl == null) {
+				// getClassLoader() returning null indicates the bootstrap ClassLoader
+				try {
+					cl = ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader();
+				}
+				catch (Throwable ex) {
+					// Cannot access system ClassLoader - oh well, maybe the caller can live with null...
+				}
+			}
 		}
 		return cl;
 	}
@@ -247,19 +258,19 @@ public abstract class ClassUtils {
 			return Array.newInstance(elementClass, 0).getClass();
 		}
 
-		ClassLoader classLoaderToUse = classLoader;
-		if (classLoaderToUse == null) {
-			classLoaderToUse = getDefaultClassLoader();
+		ClassLoader clToUse = classLoader;
+		if (clToUse == null) {
+			clToUse = getDefaultClassLoader();
 		}
 		try {
-			return classLoaderToUse.loadClass(name);
+			return (clToUse != null ? clToUse.loadClass(name) : Class.forName(name));
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			int lastDotIndex = name.lastIndexOf('.');
 			if (lastDotIndex != -1) {
 				String innerClassName = name.substring(0, lastDotIndex) + '$' + name.substring(lastDotIndex + 1);
 				try {
-					return classLoaderToUse.loadClass(innerClassName);
+					return (clToUse != null ? clToUse.loadClass(innerClassName) : Class.forName(innerClassName));
 				}
 				catch (ClassNotFoundException ex2) {
 					// swallow - let original exception get through
diff --git a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ResourceUtils.java b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ResourceUtils.java
index cf33d42236..3c2b320099 100644
--- a/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ResourceUtils.java
+++ b/spring-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/util/ResourceUtils.java
@@ -119,7 +119,8 @@ public abstract class ResourceUtils {
 		Assert.notNull(resourceLocation, "Resource location must not be null");
 		if (resourceLocation.startsWith(CLASSPATH_URL_PREFIX)) {
 			String path = resourceLocation.substring(CLASSPATH_URL_PREFIX.length());
-			URL url = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader().getResource(path);
+			ClassLoader cl = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader();
+			URL url = (cl != null ? cl.getResource(path) : ClassLoader.getSystemResource(path));
 			if (url == null) {
 				String description = "class path resource [" + path + "]";
 				throw new FileNotFoundException(
@@ -159,7 +160,8 @@ public abstract class ResourceUtils {
 		if (resourceLocation.startsWith(CLASSPATH_URL_PREFIX)) {
 			String path = resourceLocation.substring(CLASSPATH_URL_PREFIX.length());
 			String description = "class path resource [" + path + "]";
-			URL url = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader().getResource(path);
+			ClassLoader cl = ClassUtils.getDefaultClassLoader();
+			URL url = (cl != null ? cl.getResource(path) : ClassLoader.getSystemResource(path));
 			if (url == null) {
 				throw new FileNotFoundException(
 						description + " cannot be resolved to absolute file path " +
diff --git a/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardTypeLocator.java b/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardTypeLocator.java
index 7b6b45aae2..34931cf045 100644
--- a/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardTypeLocator.java
+++ b/spring-expression/src/main/java/org/springframework/expression/spel/support/StandardTypeLocator.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ public class StandardTypeLocator implements TypeLocator {
 	public Class<?> findType(String typeName) throws EvaluationException {
 		String nameToLookup = typeName;
 		try {
-			return this.classLoader.loadClass(nameToLookup);
+			return ClassUtils.forName(nameToLookup, this.classLoader);
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ey) {
 			// try any registered prefixes before giving up
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ public class StandardTypeLocator implements TypeLocator {
 		for (String prefix : this.knownPackagePrefixes) {
 			try {
 				nameToLookup = prefix + "." + typeName;
-				return this.classLoader.loadClass(nameToLookup);
+				return ClassUtils.forName(nameToLookup, this.classLoader);
 			}
 			catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 				// might be a different prefix
diff --git a/spring-jdbc/src/main/java/org/springframework/jdbc/core/metadata/OracleTableMetaDataProvider.java b/spring-jdbc/src/main/java/org/springframework/jdbc/core/metadata/OracleTableMetaDataProvider.java
index 75ba14dc10..c90743abe8 100644
--- a/spring-jdbc/src/main/java/org/springframework/jdbc/core/metadata/OracleTableMetaDataProvider.java
+++ b/spring-jdbc/src/main/java/org/springframework/jdbc/core/metadata/OracleTableMetaDataProvider.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ public class OracleTableMetaDataProvider extends GenericTableMetaDataProvider {
 		}
 		boolean isOracleCon;
 		try {
-			Class<?> oracleConClass = getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("oracle.jdbc.OracleConnection");
+			Class<?> oracleConClass = con.getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass("oracle.jdbc.OracleConnection");
 			isOracleCon = oracleConClass.isInstance(con);
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
diff --git a/spring-orm/src/main/java/org/springframework/orm/hibernate3/FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.java b/spring-orm/src/main/java/org/springframework/orm/hibernate3/FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.java
index 54bc662c7d..6f71920505 100644
--- a/spring-orm/src/main/java/org/springframework/orm/hibernate3/FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.java
+++ b/spring-orm/src/main/java/org/springframework/orm/hibernate3/FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import org.hibernate.type.TypeFactory;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanNameAware;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.FactoryBean;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.InitializingBean;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -73,8 +74,8 @@ public class FilterDefinitionFactoryBean implements FactoryBean<FilterDefinition
 	static {
 		// Hibernate 3.6 TypeResolver class available?
 		try {
-			Class<?> trClass = FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.class.getClassLoader().loadClass(
-					"org.hibernate.type.TypeResolver");
+			Class<?> trClass = ClassUtils.forName("org.hibernate.type.TypeResolver",
+					FilterDefinitionFactoryBean.class.getClassLoader());
 			heuristicTypeMethod = trClass.getMethod("heuristicType", String.class);
 			typeResolver = trClass.newInstance();
 		}
diff --git a/spring-test/src/main/java/org/springframework/test/context/TestContextManager.java b/spring-test/src/main/java/org/springframework/test/context/TestContextManager.java
index d6042edd08..c2daca30af 100644
--- a/spring-test/src/main/java/org/springframework/test/context/TestContextManager.java
+++ b/spring-test/src/main/java/org/springframework/test/context/TestContextManager.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import org.springframework.beans.BeanUtils;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
 import org.springframework.core.annotation.AnnotationUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.ObjectUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -154,8 +155,7 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 	 * registered for this {@code TestContextManager} in reverse order.
 	 */
 	private List<TestExecutionListener> getReversedTestExecutionListeners() {
-		List<TestExecutionListener> listenersReversed = new ArrayList<TestExecutionListener>(
-			getTestExecutionListeners());
+		List<TestExecutionListener> listenersReversed = new ArrayList<TestExecutionListener>(getTestExecutionListeners());
 		Collections.reverse(listenersReversed);
 		return listenersReversed;
 	}
@@ -188,18 +188,17 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 			while (declaringClass != null) {
 				TestExecutionListeners testExecutionListeners = declaringClass.getAnnotation(annotationType);
 				if (logger.isTraceEnabled()) {
-					logger.trace("Retrieved @TestExecutionListeners [" + testExecutionListeners
-							+ "] for declaring class [" + declaringClass + "].");
+					logger.trace("Retrieved @TestExecutionListeners [" + testExecutionListeners +
+							"] for declaring class [" + declaringClass + "].");
 				}
 
 				Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>[] valueListenerClasses = testExecutionListeners.value();
 				Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>[] listenerClasses = testExecutionListeners.listeners();
 				if (!ObjectUtils.isEmpty(valueListenerClasses) && !ObjectUtils.isEmpty(listenerClasses)) {
-					String msg = String.format(
-						"Test class [%s] has been configured with @TestExecutionListeners' 'value' [%s] "
-								+ "and 'listeners' [%s] attributes. Use one or the other, but not both.",
-						declaringClass, ObjectUtils.nullSafeToString(valueListenerClasses),
-						ObjectUtils.nullSafeToString(listenerClasses));
+					String msg = String.format("Test class [%s] has been configured with @TestExecutionListeners' " +
+									"'value' [%s] and 'listeners' [%s] attributes. Use one or the other, but not both.",
+							declaringClass, ObjectUtils.nullSafeToString(valueListenerClasses),
+							ObjectUtils.nullSafeToString(listenerClasses));
 					logger.error(msg);
 					throw new IllegalStateException(msg);
 				} else if (!ObjectUtils.isEmpty(valueListenerClasses)) {
@@ -221,9 +220,9 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 			}
 			catch (NoClassDefFoundError err) {
 				if (logger.isInfoEnabled()) {
-					logger.info(String.format("Could not instantiate TestExecutionListener class [%s]. "
-							+ "Specify custom listener classes or make the default listener classes "
-							+ "(and their dependencies) available.", listenerClass.getName()));
+					logger.info(String.format("Could not instantiate TestExecutionListener class [%s]. " +
+							"Specify custom listener classes or make the default listener classes " +
+							"(and their dependencies) available.", listenerClass.getName()));
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -236,14 +235,15 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 	protected Set<Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>> getDefaultTestExecutionListenerClasses() {
 		Set<Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>> defaultListenerClasses = new LinkedHashSet<Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>>();
+		ClassLoader cl = getClass().getClassLoader();
 		for (String className : DEFAULT_TEST_EXECUTION_LISTENER_CLASS_NAMES) {
 			try {
-				defaultListenerClasses.add((Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>) getClass().getClassLoader().loadClass(
-					className));
-			} catch (Throwable t) {
+				defaultListenerClasses.add((Class<? extends TestExecutionListener>) ClassUtils.forName(className, cl));
+			}
+			catch (Throwable ex) {
 				if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
-					logger.debug("Could not load default TestExecutionListener class [" + className
-							+ "]. Specify custom listener classes or make the default listener classes available.", t);
+					logger.debug("Could not load default TestExecutionListener class [" + className +
+							"]. Specify custom listener classes or make the default listener classes available.", ex);
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -273,9 +273,10 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 		for (TestExecutionListener testExecutionListener : getTestExecutionListeners()) {
 			try {
 				testExecutionListener.beforeTestClass(getTestContext());
-			} catch (Exception ex) {
-				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener
-						+ "] to process 'before class' callback for test class [" + testClass + "]", ex);
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener +
+						"] to process 'before class' callback for test class [" + testClass + "]", ex);
 				throw ex;
 			}
 		}
@@ -305,9 +306,10 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 		for (TestExecutionListener testExecutionListener : getTestExecutionListeners()) {
 			try {
 				testExecutionListener.prepareTestInstance(getTestContext());
-			} catch (Exception ex) {
-				logger.error("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener
-						+ "] to prepare test instance [" + testInstance + "]", ex);
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				logger.error("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener +
+						"] to prepare test instance [" + testInstance + "]", ex);
 				throw ex;
 			}
 		}
@@ -341,10 +343,11 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 		for (TestExecutionListener testExecutionListener : getTestExecutionListeners()) {
 			try {
 				testExecutionListener.beforeTestMethod(getTestContext());
-			} catch (Exception ex) {
-				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener
-						+ "] to process 'before' execution of test method [" + testMethod + "] for test instance ["
-						+ testInstance + "]", ex);
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener +
+						"] to process 'before' execution of test method [" + testMethod + "] for test instance [" +
+						testInstance + "]", ex);
 				throw ex;
 			}
 		}
@@ -388,10 +391,11 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 		for (TestExecutionListener testExecutionListener : getReversedTestExecutionListeners()) {
 			try {
 				testExecutionListener.afterTestMethod(getTestContext());
-			} catch (Exception ex) {
-				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener
-						+ "] to process 'after' execution for test: method [" + testMethod + "], instance ["
-						+ testInstance + "], exception [" + exception + "]", ex);
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener +
+						"] to process 'after' execution for test: method [" + testMethod + "], instance [" +
+						testInstance + "], exception [" + exception + "]", ex);
 				if (afterTestMethodException == null) {
 					afterTestMethodException = ex;
 				}
@@ -429,9 +433,10 @@ public class TestContextManager {
 		for (TestExecutionListener testExecutionListener : getReversedTestExecutionListeners()) {
 			try {
 				testExecutionListener.afterTestClass(getTestContext());
-			} catch (Exception ex) {
-				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener
-						+ "] to process 'after class' callback for test class [" + testClass + "]", ex);
+			}
+			catch (Exception ex) {
+				logger.warn("Caught exception while allowing TestExecutionListener [" + testExecutionListener +
+						"] to process 'after class' callback for test class [" + testClass + "]", ex);
 				if (afterTestClassException == null) {
 					afterTestClassException = ex;
 				}
diff --git a/spring-tx/src/main/java/org/springframework/transaction/jta/JtaTransactionManager.java b/spring-tx/src/main/java/org/springframework/transaction/jta/JtaTransactionManager.java
index 35f30be7f7..3cddfa4ce0 100644
--- a/spring-tx/src/main/java/org/springframework/transaction/jta/JtaTransactionManager.java
+++ b/spring-tx/src/main/java/org/springframework/transaction/jta/JtaTransactionManager.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2002-2012 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2002-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ import org.springframework.transaction.support.AbstractPlatformTransactionManage
 import org.springframework.transaction.support.DefaultTransactionStatus;
 import org.springframework.transaction.support.TransactionSynchronization;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+import org.springframework.util.ClassUtils;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 
 /**
@@ -154,9 +155,9 @@ public class JtaTransactionManager extends AbstractPlatformTransactionManager
 	private static Class<?> transactionSynchronizationRegistryClass;
 
 	static {
-		ClassLoader cl = JtaTransactionManager.class.getClassLoader();
 		try {
-			transactionSynchronizationRegistryClass = cl.loadClass(TRANSACTION_SYNCHRONIZATION_REGISTRY_CLASS_NAME);
+			transactionSynchronizationRegistryClass = ClassUtils.forName(
+					TRANSACTION_SYNCHRONIZATION_REGISTRY_CLASS_NAME, JtaTransactionManager.class.getClassLoader());
 		}
 		catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
 			// JTA 1.1 API not available... simply proceed the JTA 1.0 way.