diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 54a99cba0..c4eeacdcb 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
+2001-07-02  Oliver Burn  <oliver-work@puppycrawl.com>
+
+	* src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/VerifierImpl.java:
+	Added support for the IgnoreBraces property.
+
+	* src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Defn.java: Added
+	IGNORE_BRACES_PROP.
+
+	* src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Configuration.java:
+	Added IgnoreBraces property.
+
+	* src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java: Added test
+	for IgnoreBraces property.
+
 2001-06-30  Oliver Burn  <checkstyle@puppycrawl.com>
 
 	* src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java:
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Configuration.java b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Configuration.java
index 447763649..2bcf5d435 100644
--- a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Configuration.java
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Configuration.java
@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ class Configuration
     private boolean mIgnoreImports = false;
     /** whether to ignore whitespace **/
     private boolean mIgnoreWhitespace = false;
+    /** whether to ignore braces **/
+    private boolean mIgnoreBraces = false;
 
     /** the header lines to check for **/
     private String[] mHeaderLines = {};
@@ -143,6 +145,9 @@ class Configuration
             getBooleanProperty(aProps,
                                IGNORE_WHITESPACE_PROP,
                                mIgnoreWhitespace));
+        setIgnoreBraces(getBooleanProperty(aProps,
+                                           IGNORE_BRACES_PROP,
+                                           mIgnoreBraces));
         setHeaderIgnoreLineNo(
             getIntProperty(aProps, aLog, HEADER_IGNORE_LINE_PROP,
                            mHeaderIgnoreLineNo));
@@ -282,6 +287,12 @@ class Configuration
         return mIgnoreWhitespace;
     }
 
+    /** @return whether to ignore checks for braces **/
+    boolean isIgnoreBraces()
+    {
+        return mIgnoreBraces;
+    }
+
     /** @return the header lines to check for **/
     String[] getHeaderLines()
     {
@@ -409,6 +420,14 @@ class Configuration
         mIgnoreWhitespace = aTo;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @param aTo whether to ignore checks for braces
+     */
+    void setIgnoreBraces(boolean aTo)
+    {
+        mIgnoreBraces = aTo;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @param aFileName the header lines to check for
      * @throws FileNotFoundException if an error occurs
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Defn.java b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Defn.java
index aa101fe08..d5290e12d 100644
--- a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Defn.java
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Defn.java
@@ -52,4 +52,6 @@ interface Defn
     String IGNORE_IMPORTS_PROP = "checkstyle.ignore.imports";
     /** property name for ignoring whitespace **/
     String IGNORE_WHITESPACE_PROP = "checkstyle.ignore.whitespace";
+    /** property name for ignoring braces **/
+    String IGNORE_BRACES_PROP = "checkstyle.ignore.braces";
 }
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/VerifierImpl.java b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/VerifierImpl.java
index 849449dc2..e06d21d53 100644
--- a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/VerifierImpl.java
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/VerifierImpl.java
@@ -313,6 +313,10 @@ class VerifierImpl
                                 String aConstruct,
                                 int aLineNo)
     {
+        if (mConfig.isIgnoreBraces()) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         if (!"{".equals(aText) && !(aAllowIf && "if".equals(aText))) {
             log(aLineNo, "'" + aConstruct + "' construct must use '{}'s.");
         }
diff --git a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java
index 36ad6e4db..fab35ecf0 100644
--- a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java
+++ b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/CheckerTest.java
@@ -105,6 +105,19 @@ public class CheckerTest
         verify(c, "InputBraces.java", expected);
     }
 
+    public void testBracesOff()
+        throws Exception
+    {
+        mConfig.setIgnoreBraces(true);
+        final Checker c = new Checker(mConfig, mStream);
+        final String[] expected = {
+            "InputBraces.java:41: ';' is not preceeded with whitespace.",
+            "InputBraces.java:58: ';' is not preceeded with whitespace.",
+            "InputBraces.java:81: ';' is not preceeded with whitespace.",
+        };
+        verify(c, "InputBraces.java", expected);
+    }
+
     public void testTags()
         throws Exception
     {