I had my theory ATP exam succesfully completed on 1 Jan 2003.
So they expired on 1 Jan 2006.
Surely anyone who invests the time and money needed to pass these exams would make the effort to learn the process of obtaining the licence to which they relate. If not, then you have seriously missjudged professional aviation as a career.
The JAA exams may not be very logical or event relevant, they were formulated by a European committe of mostly ex airline pilots. Each country in Europe had their own ideas of how it should be done so we have the classic Camel designed by a committee. If you want to qualify, you learn the rules and follow them, flying is an exacting game that requires people to organise and manage themselves and events effectively and efficiently. Qualifying is something of a hurdle, and quite deliberately has a time limit. If you can get through it you may finish up in the left hand seat of a Jet one day; if you bitch and moan and can't make the first hurdle because you can't or don't read the rules then there is not much hope as most employers simply won't want to employ you.