Legal background
The legal basis of the CAP is set out in Articles 38 to 44 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("the TFEU"). Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Rome, Member States’ agricultural policies were replaced by intervention mechanisms at a European Community level.
	The CAP regulations can be broadly divided into four subject areas, each of which is governed primarily by one or two directly applicable EU regulations (also referred to as basic acts). There are five key basic acts in the latest CAP regime, two of which cover rural development, whilst the rest cover Direct Payments, the Common Market Organisation (CMO) and cross cutting provisions that apply to all CAP payments:
rules that are cross-cutting and apply to all areas of the CAP: Regulation 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy ("the horizontal basic act");
rules that relate only to Direct Payments: Regulation 1307/2013 establishing rules for Direct Payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy ("the Direct Payments basic act");
rules that relate only to Rural Development measures: Regulation 1305/2013 on support for Rural Development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ("the Rural Development basic act"); and Regulation 1303/2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund ("the common provisions basic act"); and
rules relating to the Common Market Organisation: Regulation 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products "CMO"); and Regulation 1370/2013 determining measures on fixing certain aids and refunds related to the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products.
	There are also several delegated and implementing acts made under powers in the above basic acts setting out further detailed provisions. It is anticipated that the above EU regulations will be incorporated into domestic law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (although note the effect of section 18 of this Act).