diff --git a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/EdcBuildPlugin.java b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/EdcBuildPlugin.java
index ab1e03ea..d20bba6d 100644
--- a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/EdcBuildPlugin.java
+++ b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/EdcBuildPlugin.java
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.checkstyle;
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.defaultDependencies;
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.jar;
-import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.java;
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.mavenPom;
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.mavenPublication;
 import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.Conventions.mavenPublishing;
@@ -73,7 +72,6 @@ public void apply(Project target) {
             // apply the conventions
             of(
                     rootBuildScript(),
-                    java(),
                     repositories(),
                     defaultDependencies(),
                     checkstyle(),
diff --git a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/Conventions.java b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/Conventions.java
index 95c66ae6..cc3e4231 100644
--- a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/Conventions.java
+++ b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/Conventions.java
@@ -43,10 +43,6 @@ public static EdcConvention mavenPom() {
         return new MavenArtifactConvention();
     }
 
-    public static EdcConvention java() {
-        return new JavaConvention();
-    }
-
     public static EdcConvention allDependencies() {
         return new AllDependenciesConvention();
     }
diff --git a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/JavaConvention.java b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/JavaConvention.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ee5e8077..00000000
--- a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/conventions/JavaConvention.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,52 +0,0 @@
-/*
- *  Copyright (c) 2022 Microsoft Corporation
- *
- *  This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
- *  terms of the Apache License, Version 2.0 which is available at
- *  https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- *  SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
- *
- *  Contributors:
- *       Microsoft Corporation - initial API and implementation
- *
- */
-
-package org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions;
-
-import org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.extensions.BuildExtension;
-import org.gradle.api.Project;
-import org.gradle.api.plugins.JavaPluginExtension;
-import org.gradle.api.tasks.compile.JavaCompile;
-import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.JavaLanguageVersion;
-
-import static org.eclipse.edc.plugins.edcbuild.conventions.ConventionFunctions.requireExtension;
-
-/**
- * Enforces the Java version, generates Javadoc jar and Sources jar for publications
- */
-class JavaConvention implements EdcConvention {
-
-    private static final int DEFAULT_JAVA_VERSION = 17;
-
-    @Override
-    public void apply(Project target) {
-        var javaPluginExt = requireExtension(target, JavaPluginExtension.class);
-        var buildExt = requireExtension(target, BuildExtension.class);
-        var javaVersion = buildExt.getJavaLanguageVersion()
-                .getOrElse(JavaLanguageVersion.of(DEFAULT_JAVA_VERSION));
-
-        // set java version
-        javaPluginExt.toolchain(tc -> tc.getLanguageVersion().set(javaVersion));
-
-        // making sure the code does not use any APIs from a more recent version.
-        // Ref: https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/building_java_projects.html#sec:java_cross_compilation
-        target.getTasks().withType(JavaCompile.class, compileTask -> {
-            var options = compileTask.getOptions();
-            options.getRelease().set(javaVersion.asInt());
-            options.setFork(true);
-            options.setIncremental(true);
-        });
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/extensions/BuildExtension.java b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/extensions/BuildExtension.java
index 3feedab3..6cee0152 100644
--- a/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/extensions/BuildExtension.java
+++ b/plugins/edc-build/src/main/java/org/eclipse/edc/plugins/edcbuild/extensions/BuildExtension.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 import org.gradle.api.Action;
 import org.gradle.api.model.ObjectFactory;
 import org.gradle.api.provider.Property;
-import org.gradle.jvm.toolchain.JavaLanguageVersion;
 
 /**
  * Root configuration resource for the EDC Build plugin
@@ -47,8 +46,6 @@ public MavenPomExtension getPom() {
         return pom;
     }
 
-    public abstract Property<JavaLanguageVersion> getJavaLanguageVersion();
-
     public SwaggerGeneratorExtension getSwagger() {
         return swagger;
     }