Rule Definition
Assertion in a catch block has no meaning. It is often related poor conception because: - assertions are not enabled in production environments, so the application will end-up with an empty catch-block - assertions do not give any meaning to the issue Also, in a catch block it is too late to refer to an assertion.

Remediation
The exception must be handled correctly according to its type.

Violation Code Sample

try {
   Date defaultDate=format.parse(DEFAULT_DATE_STRING);
...
} catch( ParseException pexc ) {
  // This must never happen!
  assert false : "bad init value"; // VIOLATION
}

Fixed Code Sample

try {
   Date defaultDate=format.parse(DEFAULT_DATE_STRING);
...
} catch( ParseException pexc ) {
  // This must never happen!
     throw myException("bad init value", pexc); // FIXED
}

http://www.old.netobjectdays.org/pdf/02/papers/industry/1430.pdf