diff --git a/change_log.txt b/change_log.txt
index 1daa35e9..cf6130bf 100644
--- a/change_log.txt
+++ b/change_log.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
  ===== trunk =====
  08.01.2014
  - bugfix Smarty_CacheResource_Custom did not handle template resource type specifications on clearCache() calls (Issue 161)
+ - bugfix SmartyBC.class.php should use require_once to load Smarty.class.php (forum topic 24683)
  
  ===== 3.1.16 =====
  15.12.2013
diff --git a/libs/SmartyBC.class.php b/libs/SmartyBC.class.php
index 32f22289..3c1a0aa9 100644
--- a/libs/SmartyBC.class.php
+++ b/libs/SmartyBC.class.php
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 /**
  * @ignore
  */
-require(dirname(__FILE__) . '/Smarty.class.php');
+require_once(dirname(__FILE__) . '/Smarty.class.php');
 
 /**
  * Smarty Backward Compatability Wrapper Class