The overarching theme of the research paper will pertain to understanding the root causes of the mounting judicial backlog, unnecessary delays in disposal of suits and consequent waning public trust in the formal civil court system in Pakistan. The paper will mainly focus on civil petitions and appeals in the lower district courts as these make up the bulk of the caseload in the judiciary. The paper will then dissect and analyze the causes of the aforementioned triumvirate by considering the issue’s various facets including the lawyer-side, court-side, demand-side and procedural factors. This will involve investigating court procedure, case management techniques, prevailing legal culture, judicial appointment mechanisms etc. and the extent of their impact on access to justice and faith in the institution. Research efforts will include both primary and secondary sources of qualitative data allowing for an accurate view of the real-time issues plaguing the civil court system and the potential solutions thereof. The eventual aim of the paper would be to study this data to propose realistic recommendations for future reform in the sector.