diff --git a/gramps/cli/clidbman.py b/gramps/cli/clidbman.py
index 5696ac711..edc7abe2e 100644
--- a/gramps/cli/clidbman.py
+++ b/gramps/cli/clidbman.py
@@ -168,8 +168,6 @@ class CLIDbManager(object):
         flags = db.DB_CREATE | db.DB_PRIVATE |\
             db.DB_INIT_MPOOL |\
             db.DB_INIT_LOG | db.DB_INIT_TXN
-        if (isinstance(dirpath, UNITYPE) and win() and sys.version_info[0] < 3):
-            dirpath = dirpath.encode(sys.getfilesystemencoding())
         try:
             env.open(dirpath, flags)
         except Exception as msg: