It throws an exception if the syntax is invalid but not if it can't resolve a property. This is the behaviour of jsf. View the original post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=viewtopic&p=4091514#4091514 Reply to the post : http://www.jboss.com/index.html?module=bb&op=posting&mode=reply&p=4091514